Spinning Platters – Page 222 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Album Review: The Julie Ruin – Run Fast

The Julie Ruin will make existing Julie Ruin fans happy, as well as the younger siblings, nieces, and nephews of said fans. “Run Fast” is occasionally brilliant and rarely annoying. I had really high expectations, and they were almost met, with the tracks at the end of the album sounding about 20x better than the pre-release singles.

This paragraph is dedicated for some information fans may already know. Kathleen Hanna was a one-woman show using a pseudonym when she released the self-titled “Julie Ruin” in 1997. It was tremendous, but it was also the only release under that name. Fast forward 16 years, and Hanna leads a group called “the Julie Ruin,” who have released an album called “Run Fast.” Whether this has anything to do with Le Tigre’s “Let’s Run” is beyond me.

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Film Review: Drinking Buddies

When Luke met Kate: Can drunk men and women ever be just friends?

Olivia Wilde’s Kate and Jake Johnson’s Luke are drinking buddies… and maybe more.

Watching Joe Swanberg’s new film Drinking Buddies is a bit like spending a summer evening out having beers with friends. The beers are cool and tasty, the company is good, the conversation can run the gamut from light, playful, and flirty to serious and intense, and the whole experience is decidedly pleasant. Of course, when you awake the next morning, you may only have a hazy recollection of having had a nice time, and by day’s end, you probably will have forgotten much of what transpired. But that’s not to say the diversion wasn’t worth it. Continue reading “Film Review: Drinking Buddies”

Film Review: Short Term 12

Strong performances anchor lovely story of compassion, hope

Brie Larson’s Grace lends a sympathetic ear to Keith Stanfield’s Marcus in Short Term 12.

After writer/director Destin Cretton graduated from college, he took a job in a group home for troubled teenagers. Years later, for his film school thesis, he created a short film loosely based on his experiences, which went on to win the Jury Prize for short filmmaking at Sundance in 2009. He has now turned that 20-minute short into a feature-length film of the same name, Short Term 12, and the result is a truly beautiful piece of cinema that speaks to the transcendent power of kindness, understanding, and love. Continue reading “Film Review: Short Term 12”

9 Quick Questions with Cody ChesnuTT

Cody ChesnuTT is a mysterious figure. In 2002, he put out a record called The Headphone Masterpiece, which caught the attention of The Roots, prompting them to re-record the song “The Seed” as “The Seed 2.0,” creating The Roots first hit single on the rock charts. Then he disappeared for a decade, only to return last year with a whole new record of modern day soul music called Landing On A Hundred. He will be performing at The Independent on Saturday, September 7th. Tickets available here.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/29/13-9/4/13

It’s Labor Day weekend, and half the editorial staff a Spinning Platters is heading up north to Bumbershoot. Because sometimes you just don’t get tired of music festivals, and word on the street is that this one is one of the best. (Sadly, both Charlie XCX and Icona Pop canceled on their sets at Bumbershoot and the Bay Area this week) We’ve got a lot of Bumbershoot bands playing the bay this week, so you won’t be missing out too much. Heck, you probably won’t need an umbrella for any of these show!

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First City Festival Highlights, Day 2

Akron/Family at First City Festival — Akron/Family absolutely killed it.

This past weekend, First City Festival made its debut at Monterey County Fairgrounds (if it sounds familiar, the annual Jazz Festival is also held there) and the stellar turnout ensured that this won’t be the last time we witness the two-day event that was named after Monterey’s claim to be the “first capital” of California.

With a line up containing Neko Case, Toro Y Moi, Akron/Family, and the Antlers, on day two alone, it was definitely worth making a two-hour road trip from the Bay Area. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was mellow, and lines for food and beverages were reasonable. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t make a top five list. Before you look at the photos, humor me in reading my thoughts on the highlights and lowlights of the day’s events.

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Film Review: Austenland

No sense and no sensibility: Jane Austen as uninspired rom-com

Jennifer Coolidge, Keri Russell, and Georgia King are living the Jane Austen dream in Austenland.

With Austenland, first-time director Jerusha Hess (one half of the husband/wife team that wrote Napoleon Dynamite) has turned Shannon Hale’s popular novel into a dippy, run-of-the mill, predictable romantic comedy. The novel’s fans may be the only audience for this dud, and even then their enjoyment no doubt will stem purely from the curiosity of seeing how the story translates to the screen. Everyone else would be better entertained by staying home and reading an actual Jane Austen novel. Continue reading “Film Review: Austenland”

Part One of the Spinning Platters Interview: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of The World’s End

Maybe we can get a fourth movie in this trilogy if we ask nicely.

Tomorrow sees the U.S. release of The World’s End, the third film in a so-called trilogy of films from Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting around a table with a group of San Francisco film writers to talk with them for a few minutes. Those few minutes became a lot more minutes, as once they started talking, they had a lot to say. Part one of this two-part interview will touch on subjects such as traveling to England, Raising Arizona, and putting peanuts in a log. Come back tomorrow for part two of this interview, and a review of the movie as well.

You mentioned during a post-film Q&A that you wanted to show parts of England that weren’t London, but then these parts of England that aren’t London have zombies, they have murderers, they have what we see in this movie …

Edgar Wright: Which is basically saying “Don’t go to England.” Continue reading “Part One of the Spinning Platters Interview: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of The World’s End”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/22/13-8/28/13

School is back in session soon, right? So you should go out and enjoy some shows before you have to return to the old grind!

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Show Review: Best Coast with Bleached at The Fillmore, 8/16/13

San Francisco has been feuding with Los Angeles for as long as both cities have been in existence. San Franciscans are pretty much disgusted by everything LA has to offer. Somehow, Best Coast have managed to survive that hatred. In fact, Best Coast are huge in the city by the bay. How did they do it? By being really good at what they do. And, last Thursday, they got to play San Francisco’s most revered music venue. The support? Another fine band from Los Angeles: Bleached.

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