Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

Damien Chazelle's Golden Globe award winning La La Land starts slowly with a song, "Another Day in the Sun" and scenario that recalls  Rent as commuters in a Los Angeles freeway traffic jam get out of their cars to perform the biggest dance number. While the average musical fan might relish this scene, due to its expansiveness, with hundreds of dancers and stunning cinematography, I thought it hurt the pacing of the film. Indeed,the film captures the ambience and feel of life in LA, but its reach sometimes exceeds its grasp as Chazelle tries to fit in many influences and references. However, his heart is in the right place as he creates a stylistically stunning tribute to classic Hollywood and the stories it told. The songs sometimes do not feel fully formed either, but that just might be me as my knowledge of musicals is mostly confined to Astaire and Rodgers and MGM musicals.   Despite these minor complaints, I was unprepared for how much I enjoyed the film. When ...

The Last's music is a raging, timely love letter to 60s psychedelia with an 80s flare and a punk rock ethic. All the touchstones of the so-called 80s Paisley Revival are included, beginning in 1976: The Byrds, Dylan, Love, The Pretty Things, and more. Yet there is so much else here; there are touches of mod, power pop, surf, and punk, all tied up in an energetic package. The first track, "She Don't Know Why I'm Here" is an anthem that could have been written in the 60s; it's timeless power is evident because it is a catchy pop tune undercut with a current of danger and cynicism. The Last justly increase the power and speed over its three minute running time. Not unlike The Barracudas, The Last traffic in sweet and sour melodies, often juxtaposed; Joe Nolte writes upbeat pop numbers, but also dabbles in psychedelic sadness. "She Don't Know Why I'm Here" combines both worldviews. I first heard the track on an old Bomp compilation, Destina...

Jeffrey Lee Pierce was a blues man at heart, gifted with all the talent and power of a young Howlin' Wolf. His music borrowed heavily from the delta blues and other American roots music, but he took inspiration from these forms and created something new. Once president of the Blondie fan club, Pierce was a student of many musical disciplines, from reggae to progressive rock, but his commitment to the blues helped Gun Club, the band he formed in the late 1970's and continued with until his untimely death in 1996 at the age of 37, with varying lineups, become a powerhouse that ultimately released a few seminal records. Early Gun Club was a primal rush, often resembling Nick Cave's more manic output or slower Cramps sides, but its influences ran deeper than either. Pierce was a student of the blues form that followed his own muse and created records that are still far different than most of what is out there. Fire of Love draws primarily from blues with a heaping dose of ...