Gordon Elgart – Page 2 – Spinning Platters

Record Store Day 2020: A Woefully Out-of-Date Preview of What Was Supposed to Happen

Record Store Day didn’t really happen this year, but tomorrow is the first of 3 “RSD Drops” where most of what was intended to be released back in April is finally being sent to your local independent record store. Methods of sale vary wildly from store to store so be sure to call or email ahead to find out how to wait in the queue, if you’re even able to. Records will be online much faster than ever before, so keep your eyes on the independent sellers who also sell online. For actual, final Record Store Day info, visit http://www.recordstoreday.com. And now, travel back in time to early April when I was about to press publish …

For a dozen years now, independent record stores across the world have celebrated Record Store Day. At first, a small initiative to get people to shop at their local record stores, it’s now an excuse for thousands of people to join hours-long queues at record shops across the world to buy one (or several) of the several hundred special releases made for that day that will only ever be sold in stores, and for which pre-orders are not allowed to be taken. As the list of releases has grown, the quality of those releases has diverged. While some of the announced records are long-awaited reissues of rare and important material, others are obvious cash grabs meant to appeal to the completist nature of a certain type of collector. Now, I’ll sort some of these in buckets for you, starting with the most essential, ending with the least essential. Continue reading “Record Store Day 2020: A Woefully Out-of-Date Preview of What Was Supposed to Happen”

Single of the Week: Let’s Be Friends by Carly Rae Jepsen

Carly Rae Jepsen, Canada’s greatest export since Rush, has done it again. She’s released another single outside of the standard album cycle that is bound to outlast anything that appeared on the album that preceded it. Much like “Cut to the Feeling” has become one of her most beloved songs, her newest single “Let’s Be Friends” is poised to become another standout in her unimpeachable songbook.

Co-written and produced by CJ Baran, whose credits include “Let’s Get Lost” and “Emotion” from Carly Rae, “Let’s Be Friends” is a bouncy breakup song that examines the lie that couples will stay friends after they’re done being lovers. Full of playful vocals and clever turns of phrase, its catchy chorus is ready for singing along or for quirky short dance videos. The song even features a funny spoken-word breakdown, perfect for TikTok lipsyncing, that “coincidentally” lasts exactly 15 seconds.

We’re big, big fans of Carly Rae here at Spinning Platters, so much so that we’re on a first-name basis with her in our heads. So it’s exciting to note that at the same time this single was released, she also announced a show on April 12 at The Fox Theater in Oakland.

Film Review: Ad Astra

Occasional fits of brilliance keep us wondering what could have been

Brad Pitt, seen here not actually podcasting, but starring in James Gray’s Ad Astra.

At the top of many published lists of anticipated films for 2019 was James Gray’s Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt as an astronaut sent out into space to solve a mystery involving his father (Tommy Lee Jones), who had been a legendary astronaut himself before disappearing years ago while commanding a mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. Coming from respected director James Gray with a stellar cast and crew, many were dismayed when the movie was delayed, supposedly to work on “visual effects.” Is this the case, or were the more nefarious “studio notes” in play?

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Single Of The Week: Crash Into Me by Steve Aoki & Darren Criss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvrp6puFsuk

I was at the Manchester International Festival earlier this week when DJ Yoda played a headlining set in the Festival Square. There were people of all ages at the festival dancing along to mixes of classics of all types: rock, northern soul, hip-hop, Britpop, television themes, you name it. But nothing got the crowd going more than when he kicked into a remix of “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. I was nearly bowled over by a guy wearing a denim jacket featuring a giant Dead Kennedys patch. He was belting out the words like they were the most meaningful thing he had ever heard.

All this to say, millenial soft rock is here and it’s ready to take over the dance floors at festivals all over the world. What’s the biggest millenial soft rock song of all? Honestly, probably “My Heart Will Go On,” but surely the one that’s taken the most derision over the years has been “Crash Into Me” by former Nickelback titleholder Dave Matthews Band. Here, Steve Aoki and Darren Criss reclaim the tune as the floor filling banger it was always meant to be. It’s fun, easy to sing along to, and a harbinger of a future where we’re all wearing punk rock gear singing Vanessa Carlton at the top of our lungs.

Show Review: The Darkness with Diarrhea Planet at The Regency Ballroom, 3/31/2018

Rock is dead, people say. They say this because EDM and hip-hop headliners rule the festival stage, and when a rock band is seen anywhere on stage, it’s always dismissed as a legacy act. When people say this, they’re stupid. , but Iif they need convincing, here comes a tour that gives a big giant fuck you to the concept. For rock isn’t dead, and The Darkness is here to stick their big giant riffs in your face in the name of rock and roll. Continue reading “Show Review: The Darkness with Diarrhea Planet at The Regency Ballroom, 3/31/2018”

Interview: Director Cory Finley and Actress Anya Taylor-Joy on Thoroughbreds

Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy play a kind of chess in Thoroughbreds, Cory Finley’s new film.

Cory Finley’s debut feature, Thoroughbreds, has many signs that point to a promising career in film. His dialogue is often whip-smart, crackling along at a fast pace. He has scenes of incredible tension realized in interestingly new yet classic style. He’s got a knack for casting, and clearly has a way with actors, as his small ensemble performs the heck out of the material. There’s so much to like about this movie, yet it left me with so many questions about its history and its themes. Lucky for me, director Cory Finley and star Anya Taylor-Joy were in town to talk about the film, and I was able to sit down with them to discuss this fun and tense film.

SP: When I saw this film, I had no idea it was based on a play, and then I watched it and talked to my friend, and I said, “I think that was based on a play.” I think there were two things that stood out. One is sort of just the conservation of characters. I was really surprised that we met the moms at all. I thought that we were going to get through the whole film without the moms. Were the moms in the play? Continue reading “Interview: Director Cory Finley and Actress Anya Taylor-Joy on Thoroughbreds“

Noise Pop Show Review: Nilbog with Chaki at Rickshaw Stop, 2/26/2018

I’d like you to close your eyes for a moment and think of the nerdiest concert you can imagine. What do you see when you do this? Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos? The Fair Maidens Play Iron Maiden by Four Ukuleles? Queensryche doing Operation Mindcrime AND Operation Mindcrime 2? Well, my fellow music nerds, I am here to report that I have a concert nerdier than my wildest dreams, and it was wonderful.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Rick Springfield

Although it’s widely touted as a comedy festival, SF Sketchfest has a wide ranging program that meanders into film, television, literature and music as well. How fitting it is, then, that Rock Solid With Pat Francis is welcoming a guest with a long career doing all three. From his beginnings with mega-hit “Jesse’s Girl” to his years as Noah Drake on General Hospital to his critically acclaimed memoir of depression, Late, Late Night all the way to co-starring with Meryl Streep in Jonathan Demme’s final film, Rikki and the Flash, Rick Springfield has a career as interesting and varied as the rest of the programming at SF Sketchfest. When given the opportunity to talk to him about his Sketchfest appearance and his new blues centered album The Snake King, and told I would only have an hour to prepare, I jumped at the chance.

Rick Springfield was in his car on the way to Joshua Tree when he called. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rick Springfield”

Film Review: Phantom Thread

It looks great, sounds great, and contains great performances, and that should be enough, right?

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread

There are six words that gets the blood of every movie nerd pumping: Paul Thomas Anderson are three of them, and Daniel Day-Lewis are the other three. The other time these two worked together, they created the modern masterpiece There Will be Blood. Now they return, sans milkshakes, for what Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis claims will be his last acting job. Whether this retirement sticks is anyone’s guess, but is it worth catching him on the screen one last time?

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Film Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming

The ultimate movie-by-committee goes for spectacular, but is less than amazing

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) gives fatherly advice to young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Sometimes a movie has a story to tell, and sometimes it doesn’t. This movie doesn’t. It has a purpose, for sure. It has a goal in mind and it competently makes every effort to get there, and objectively, it does. Unfortunately, the goal was not to make a meaningful movie; it was simply to check all the boxes on what makes an “entertaining” one. This is a bland, corporate product that goes down easy, but is forgettable from beginning to end.

Continue reading “Film Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming“