Music? What Do I Know About That? Vol. 2: ピストルバルブ (Pistol Valve)

Yes, another band. This one I've known about and enjoyed for a few months. Where did I find them? BBC's The World. Either click that and listen to a fancy-pants interview, or just listen to The Best House (or all of the songs) here at the band's Myspace page to see if they're your bag. The Band's first album to be released in America, Tsunamic Girls From Tokyo "Rocks my socks off," to borrow an adage from Nikki. The band covers The Who's My Generation in addition to having amazing original songs in their unique pop-jazz-brass-band sound. I dig it. Give it a listen.

Films Everyone Ought To Watch - Jules and Jim

In my humble opinion, François Truffaut's Jules and Jim is the crown jewel of the French New Wave. Of all the works of Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard, and Truffaut, the most prolific auteurs in the style, it stands out as one of the best and most relevant of those created during that groundbreaking movement.. These men and their collaborators are responsible for cinema as we know it today. Their works, when looked back upon, can be seen taking the best of what Orson Welles' revolutionary mind had produced, inserting their own unique stylings, and then succeeding in popularizing it (something Welles was astonishingly unable to do).

Godard's popular Breathless often is regarded as the best of the movement, and it is certainly the most popular, but to me, it seemed at times more like an exercise in the style than a film proper, lacking depth, though undeniably exceeding the confines of traditional cinema. Where I believe Godard's early attempt failed, Jules and Jim succeeded. By the tragic end of the film, the audience likely has an emotional bond of some sort with one or all of the three leads, and is all the more affected because of it.

In a fast-paced montage as the credits role and and a narrator keeps a near auctioneer-like pace to follow and describe the events that lead to the life-long friendship of Jules (Oskar Werner) and Jim (Henri Serre). The pair are inseparable over the course of the film's 25 years, though there are split temporarily by the first World War and other brief absences, when they re-unite, it's as though no time has passed at all. They share language, meals, adventures, and most importantly, women. After many brief humorous flings, Catherine (Jeanne Moreau), and entirely different kind of woman, enters the men's lives.

Catherine is an enigma. She has the face of a statue which the pair had seen earlier at a friend's house. It had fascinated them, a thing of pristine beauty. To see their fascination realized before them in Catherine is astonishing. She is something different, something that the two can not simply share, and Jules lays claim in a famous scene, in a film of famous scenes, saying, "but not this one, Jim. OK?".

Catherine has other ideas, however, and though they all share a profound love for each other, something is amiss. We watch the trio age as the film progresses over the 25 years of these character's lives. After living fairly carefree lives, the War arises and splits the duo apart. Truffaut mixes stock footage from the war and his own, nearly seamlessly.

I don't believe I'm doing the film justice with this, but just felt like writing. It's been months since I've actually watched it, so I think I'll fix this up once I have. For now, here's a famous and great shot. Regardless, just trust that it's a Film Everyone Ought To Watch.

Music? What Do I Know About That? Vol. 1: Starlight Mints & Gogol Bordello

The Starlight Mints! Who are they? A Band. Are they popular? I neither know, nor could I care less. All I know, is that they're pretty brilliant. I stumbled upon their music by complete chance wandering through stranger's muxtapes, and boy am I lucky to have found them (there is a lot of bollocks that people like to listen to). Is it worth listening or spending money on? See for yourself here: http://www.myspace.com/starlightmints

As I said, I know not a thing about the technical aspects of music criticism, so I won't even try. However, I will say that this is better than anything I've heard recently on the radio, t.v., or internet. I'm buying the album asap.
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In exactly the same vein, with exactly the same story, I bring to you, Gogol Bordello. Totally different kind of music, equal enjoyableness(?). This and Starlight Mints are exactly what I've been looking for, something NEW and exciting to listen to. Popular music in America is in a sad state, here's the remedy for that problem: http://www.myspace.com/gogolbordello

This IS the answer!