From now (2:15) until about 4, Radio UTD will be giving tickets away to the following shows:

Blonde Redhead
Dr. Dog
Ted Leo + The Pharmacists
Ben Kweller
TV on the Radio
Animal Collective
Sondre Lerche

Tune in to Radio UTD to find out how to win. Don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about that Animal Collective show.

The Beatdown | Minx Burlesque | Christian! Teenage Runaway (Dan's Silver Leaf)

Not the kind of show you see at Dan's everyday and I don't mind one bit. There will be two bands and a burlesque troupe so it's actually an uncommon show for most venues. The Beatdown plays throwback soul-rock and I've enjoyed the songs on the page, so this is a good chance to see if the magic translates live. They feature members of S-1 Committee, Pointy Shoe Factory, Denton County Revelators and a handful of other bands that escape me right now. Christian! Teenage Runaway have only improved upon something that I didn't think could get any better. This is probably the coolest Dan's show since Our Band Could Be Your Life back in October.

Chief Death Rage | I Kill Cars | The Daily Beat (J & J's Pizza)

Chief Death Rage have really honed their sludgy aesthetic to an impressively devastating extreme. If you close your eyes and just suck in all the reverb and riffage, it's like a Budgie bootleg blasted from an overdriven PA. All the more fucked up when it's bouncing off of the concrete floors and wooden ceilings of J & J's tonight. I Kill Cars sound like pretty good slop-punk. The Daily Beat on the other hand take a much more melodic and sing-song approach to the stigmatized genre.

Lost Generation with DJ Wanz Dover (Fallout Lounge)

Wanz will be showing highlights from the Fela Kuti documentary: Music Is The Weapon from 1982. Sounds rad.

DJ G (Hailey's)

The first track on the new one is here. Sorry you have to click through a few pages of crap to get to the download, but its there. Anyway, I've only listened to half of the album so far, but its made a great first impression. Pretty classic sound, and at least one Lou song for good measure.

For sample only... if anyone with an ownership interest in this material would like the above link removed, email Weshotjr@yahoo.com and we will take it down immediately.

I found the D.I.Y. ethic to be alive and well in the unlikeliest of places last week as The Paramount Theater in Austin, TX, known primarily for its Vaudevillian history, welcomed filmmaker David Lynch for a rare screening and Q&A session. Lynch has always manged to maintain his status as Hollywood outsider/adventurous experimental filmmaker (despite having been employed by Disney), but his latest project might just raise his own personal bar in both regards. His appearance in Austin was just one of many he's recently made in cities around the country as part of a promotional tour for INLAND EMPIRE (his caps), his latest and possibly most daring work in recent memory. The film itself is noteworthy to be sure (as explained below), but its release also represents several changes in Lynch's production and distribution M.O. that are highly indicative of the widespread cultural and technological transitions that we all are experiencing as film-makers, musicians, artists, writers, bloggers and fans. For starters, the movie was shot entirely on digital video, which he contends is terrible from a quality standpoint but highly advantageous in other ways. Additionally, he is funding and distributing the movie's release almost entirely on his own, a bold move considering his relative lack of deep pockets (for Hollywood anyway).

Lynch introduced INLAND EMPIRE by welcoming Austin native Chrysta Bell (who is featured on the soundtrack) to set the tone with a brief improvisation consisting of her lone, haunting voice echoing through the historic theater. It was one of those time-stopping moments similar to the Lady in the Radiator scene in Eraserhead or the Rebekah Del Rio performance of Roy Orbison's "Crying" in Mulholland Drive, only this time, Lynch was was touring the movie himself, without the aid of a traditional distributor, and the audience was treated to a rare opportunity to see and hear an element of his picture live and in person. This kind of intimacy would not be possible if the film had been distributed by Miramax or Sony Pictures Classics, the kings of fake independent cinema, and the break from the norm was quite welcome. As the film began, Lynch advised the audience not to get up during the nearly three hour run time, marking the first of many ways in which Lynch would challenge the audience over the next several hours.

Without spoiling too much, Inland Empire is a sprawling fever dream, macabre and disturbing but not without moments of outright humor, or at the very least, scenes so uncomfortably awkward that everyone in the audience laughs nervously in unison. As confusing as Mulholland Drive was to some audiences, this made that film look like Kate and Leopold. It is particularly important to note from the outset that the picture was shot without the aid and anchor of a proper script, meaning that many of the scenes were scribbled out the day before or of shooting. The project evolved out of an online series called Rabbits that Lynch has worked on for some time on his own rather innovative website, David Lynch.com. Rabbits features a vocal appearance by Naomi Watts, who starred in his last major release, and scenes from the series (which features a family of rabbits, or actors in rabbit costumes, interacting in 1950's sitcom fashion) are weaved throughout the film, making for some of the most disconnectedly abstract stretches of the movie. Laura Dern should be commended for such a strong acting performance considering that neither her nor the director admit to knowing what INLAND EMPIRE is about. Throughout the movie, Dern transforms from guileless and sweet to jaded and vengeful to horrified and devastated as the audience is subjected to a pummeling of flip-flopping themes. Her character is an actress, but the line between her character in the film and a woman in reality is blurred to the point of causing the audience to feel uneasy as the very theater they sit in becomes part of the twist. The setting also bounces between movie sets in California and prostitutes on the streets of Poland without warning, adding to the dizzy nature of the film's content, pacing and tone. There were no shooting permits obtained for the scenes actually shot in the "Inland Empire" section of California, adding to the guerilla appeal of an outright challenging movie made largely devoid of big studio influence. On many levels, Inland Empire plays out more like an improvised composition than a traditional film, with various textures and themes slowly unraveling over the course of it's substantial running time.

In a surprisingly smooth Q and A session following the presentation, Lynch also compared the methods he employed in creating and releasing INLAND EMPIRE to making music and the decline of the music industry in general, which is also obviously in a state of flux. Lynch made some of the music on the soundtrack, as he has in the past, so he wasn't merely tossing around vague metaphors. Even without his usual coconspirator, Angelo Badalamenti , the soundtrack was excellently performed by Lynch and the aforementioned Bell, along with the occasional girl group or Nina Simone song thrown in to counter or even heighten the on-screen bizarreness.

He spent much of the question and answer session explaining how meditation figures heavily into his daily life and creative process, as well as how excited he is about the prospect of self releasing future projects with his beloved Sony digital video camera. To hear an icon like Lynch, (whose work has always had a timeless quality due to the lushness that comes with traditional film) talk about the virtues of self released DV was a dramatic example of how drastically technology has changed art in general, especially in the past decade. The transitional crossroads between art and technology comes with some necessary compromises and tradeoffs to be sure, but as painful as it can be to see so many new releases peppered with pixellated breakup, the ease of transferring digital work from camera to theater does help to wrestle away much of the big studio power, since the studio is one of the only institutions that could or would want to spend money on extremely expensive analog film and related expenses. So even an auteur like Lynch, someone with almost impossibly high standards for the final visual and sound quality of a project, has recognized that ultimately the increased liberation from big studio oppression might be worth the compromise. Such sacrifices might be the only way future artists as unique as Lynch will even have a chance at making a statement in a creative world increasingly choked by over-analyzation of audience demographics and target markets. The highlight of the conversation was hearing Lynch explain to the sold-out theater, which was probably comprised of many aspiring filmmakers, that his idea of success could never be measured in terms of money, but rather through the realization of a creative vision. You often hear people say things like that when they clearly don't mean them, but considering that Lynch has just self-released what a friend complained to me as being the "world's first three hour short film", he somehow seems more believable than most.

Brief list today.

This is Radio Clash with Flashlight Party (Hailey's)

Hopefully Flashlight Party will play "What a Fool Believes" again and make fools out of everyone.

Astro-Jazz Quartet (Pearl)

Karl Poetschke of Ghostcar has a new group featuring Dana Sudorough (Subtle Vibes, Freddie Jones Quartet) on electric vibes, Lyels West (Marcel Ivory Quartet, Quartet Out) on bass, and Gerard Bendix (Swirve) on drums. Poetschke will man the electric trumpet and do spaced-out versions of Jazz standards from 8-11 PM at this fairly new venue. Pearl is at the corner of Commerce and Pearl making this a rare opportunity to hang out in downtown proper. The venue promises "no TV" and "no video games" and I can respect the anti-sports bar sentiment.

1 OF MONTREAL Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? Polyvinyl
2 YOKO ONO Yes, I'm A Witch Astralwerks
3 DAVID VANDERVELDE The Moonstation House Band Secretly Canadian
4 RAFTER Music For Total Chickens Asthmatic Kitty
5 APPLES IN STEREO New Magnetic Wonder Yep Roc
6 SONIC YOUTH The Destroyed Room: B-Sides And Rarities Geffen
7 DEERHOOF Friend Opportunity Kill Rock Stars
8 ARCADE FIRE "Black Mirror" [Single] Merge
9 SHINS Wincing The Night Away Sub Pop
10 SONDRE LERCHE Phantom Punch Astralwerks
11 JULIE DOIRON Woke Myself Up Jagjaguwar
12 CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH Some Loud Thunder Self-Released
13 TEDDYBEARS Soft Machine Atlantic / Big Beat
14 JOSEF K Entomology Domino
15 CLINIC Visitations Domino
16 SUBTLE For Hero: For Fool Lex
17 MENOMENA Friend And Foe Barsuk
18 SIX PARTS SEVEN Casually Smashed To Pieces Suicide Squeeze
19 OCTOPUS PROJECT AND BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW The House Of Apples And Eyeballs Graveface
20 STRANGLERS Suite XVI EMI
21 MEW Frengers Columbia
22 FIELD MUSIC Tones Of Town Memphis Industries
23 BUSDRIVER RoadKillOvercoat Epitaph
24 DARK MEAT Universal Indians Cloud Recordings
25 SHE, SIR Who Can't Say Yes Self-Released
26 VARIOUS ARTISTS 8-Bit Operators Astralwerks
27 EARLY YEARS The Early Years Beggars Banquet
28 CHUMBAWAMBA A Singsong And A Scrape AK Press
29 MINSK The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment Relapse
30 LONEY, DEAR Loney, Noir Sub Pop

Adds:
1 DO MAKE SAY THINK You, You're A History In Rust Constellation
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS Imagine The Shapes What's Your Rupture?
3 DR. DOG We All Belong Park The Van
4 ISIS In The Abscence Of Truth Ipecac
5 TEDDYBEARS Soft Machine Atlantic / Big Beat

They really don't have shows on Mondays.

1. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
3. Menomena - Friend and Foe
4. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
5. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
6. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
7. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
8. Beirut - Lon Gisland
9. Fujiya + Miyagi - Transparent Things
10. Various Artists - Zac Crain for Dallas Mayor Compilation
11. St. Vincent - Paris is Burning
12. Arbouretum - Rites of Uncovering
13. Benoit Pioulard - Precis
14. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - #3
15. Lymbyc Systym - Love Your Abuser
16. Mum - The Peel Sessions
17. The Earlies - The Enemy Chorus
18. Sloan - Never Hear the End of It
19. The Broken West - I Can't Go On I'll Go On
20. Paolo Nutini - These Streets

After we watched The Great Tyrant shatter eardrums and hurt feelings at Art Prostitute last month, we vowed to make every effort to see them the next time they played a show anywhere in Dallas. And apparently, a lot of other people made themselves similar promises. The band's well attended opening set at Doublewide on Saturday confirmed that they are indeed one of the most brutally powerful and exciting live acts in Dallas, Denton or Ft. Worth at the moment, packing punches of sprawling, theatrical doom noise accompanied by the kind of technical skill and precision that comparable bands usually don't even need in order to get the job done. In front of a simple yet effective set of visuals, the band coated the room with an oozing, angry syrup of noise that took cues from drone metal and early goth infused with a nervous psychedelic abandon that made the entire experience hypnotic and unpredictable. Daron Beck's soaring vocals, seemingly influenced by soul as much as Scott Walker, Nick Cave or Peter Murphy, sat front and center as Tommy Atkins' flawless basslines played off the mind blowing drumming of Jon Teague, creating a menacing rhythmic assault underneath the layers of foggy noise that combine and clash with one another to take the band to the next level in terms of both performance and composition. The overwhelming heaviness of their music is certainly what will draw most listeners at first, but as you step back and start to notice the details and sophisticated structures that the Great Tyrant uses to create what initially comes across as chaos, the possibilities seem endless, and the band's growing local notoriety certainly seems well deserved.

One of the things we laugh about around here is how we're accused of kissing Wanz' ass and showering everything he does with praise when the fact of the matter is that we've honestly been less than impressed with most of the live performances we've seen from him over the past year. Sure, just about every project he has been involved with has had great potential (as well as a fair share of brilliant moments), but repeated technical difficulties and passages of seemingly unnecessary self indulgence have often turned Wanz Dover shows into less than thrilling experiences for us. As his new band The Frenz took the stage at Doublewide on Saturday, the place had filled up pretty close to capacity with what seemed to be Wanz' built in crowd, and happily, those in attendance were treated to what was probably the most completely realized and intriguing music that Wanz has played since we started writing this blog. Kicking off the set with several long, mesmerizing electronic tracks that sounded heavily influenced by German minimalist house and dubstep with overtones of shoegaze and Boards of Canada styled IDM, The Frenz set the bar quite high early on. Wanz' vocals (which reminded us of Danzig quite a bit) were typically understated and well delivered throughout, showcasing a notable strong suit, while the band's highly layered instrumental passages were delivered quite effectively with the excellent drumming of Guyton Sanders keeping focus and standing out as a highlight. The set seemed to falter a bit at the end (after an excellent Can cover) as the live instrument-centered songs didn't carry the same weight and immediacy as the electro tracks, but it was clear that Wanz has put together an excellent new project with the kind of skilled musicians that might help give it the staying power it needs.

Although we didn't get to catch all of what seemed to be a typically enjoyable set from the Angelus, what we witnessed was indeed a truly solid local bill featuring bands that manage to take risks without being reckless, which is a rare treat no matter where you happen to live.

I'm guessing many of you will either 1) watch the super bowl; 2) watch the super bowl and get drunk while watching; 3) not watch the super bowl. Either way, you'll be able to check out members of Ghostcar playing at Winedale starting at 10pm... if you're into that sort of thing.

(Contributions from SR and DL on this one.)

FRIDAY

The Vietniks (Secret Headquarters)
The Vietniks consist of three Texas filmmakers who play music along with projected images that they produce themselves. The music sounds like dirty minimal blues slop from the sixties, a decade they obviously draw heavily from. (SR- I would say that bands like Vietnam and Pink Mountaintops are good contemporary reference points based on what I've heard, which of course means Velvet Undergound by default. Doesn't everything?)

Kettle Art: Dallas Video Fest Classics: The Kettle Art Gallery in Deep Ellum has partnered with the Dallas Video Festival to present some of the best selections from the DVF archives. And it actually looks awesome. Here's the 80's-centric lineup:

From 1987:

MTV "Art Breaks"

"Buzzbox" with Pee Wee Herman

From 1988:

Selections from the Dallas Show where Dallas artists interpret the assassination of JFK, including:

Blessing by Rev. Bob

’63 by James Chefchis

The Single Gun Theory by The Church of the Subgenius

Taste the Legend with Jackie Matrix by Mark Ridlin

Selection from Dallas at the Crossroads (with Walter Cronkite)

Selection from "Dick Talk" by X

"Free Society: The Way Things Go" by Paul Garrin

From 1989:

Selections from The Texas Show, including:

Rev. Bob heals the Videotape by Farley Scott

Susanville: The Epic – Part I by Susan Magilow and Susan Teegardin

Exoskeleton by Dave Hynds

and Selections from DEVO: A Retrospective

SATURDAY

The Angelus | The Frenz | The Great Tyrant (Double Wide)
Epic show. The Frenz is Wanz Dover with some "friends" helping him out, including members of Ghostcar, Jack With One Eye, and Paul Baker of the late Sub Oslo, who will be providing projected images for your visual stimulation. The Angelus continues the cinematic atmospherics but does it through their music as opposed to having a visual aid. The Great Tyrant blew everyone away at our Art Prostitute show back in December by not only overcoming the notorious sound problems in that room but also coming close to blowing the audience through the front windows with sheer force. They also recorded a song for a Magma tribute, which is one of the coolest things a local band has ever done.

Sparklehorse | Jesse Sykes And The Sweet Hereafter (Gypsy Tea Room): Mark Linkous' greatest musical achievement might his production on Daniel Johnston's Fear Yourself. The fact that this man is even alive is also quite an accomplishment. So go see a real survivor at Gypsy Tea Room, which for better or worse, is not quite the survivor that Linkous is.

Eat Avery's Bones | Nouns Group (Secret Headquarters)
Eat Avery's Bones will look especially bizarre in whatever costumes they're wearing under the eerie blue glow of the SHQ space. I have never seen this band play with anything except unabashed and contagious enthusiasm, and a lot of sour rock stars should take a page from their book. Nouns Group doesn't have a Myspace profile.

The Paper Chase | Dove Hunter | Tre Orsi (Rubber Gloves)
Tre Orsi is the Texas supergroup that has members of South San Gabriel, Okkervil River, and Little Grizzly. I've heard that the band is a good rough-edged live experience and pretty much steers clear of any sad-bastard country rock posturing. The Paper Chase end their trio of Texas shows with this one and will be back on the road later this month to play a rare (for any band) Alaska stop with Cursive before starting another ultra-ambitious tour in March. Dove Hunter has members of 54 40" or Fight band Mandarin, but they are a lot more country than calculus.

SUNDAY

The Frenz | Night Game Cult | Chief Death Rage (Rubber Gloves)
The Frenz stay busy with their second show in the same weekend and are spoiled with another solid lineup. Chief Death Rage will make sure that nobody is left standing and I'm convinced that Night Game Cult rule more than ever after their triumphant performance at SHQ, no matter what the fucking Observer says.