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CHARACTER AND CREATURE DESIGNS
Jul 31, 2010
Lectures
Neville Page, one of the film industry's best character and creature designer, will talk about his work in films like Avatar, Cloverfield and Star Trek in a talk called "How to Create a Creature from Soup to Nuts.32 other things to do in San Diego 31 Saturday
CD reviews
Our takes on new records by The Gears, Nirvana and Nouvelle Vague
The Gears
Rockin’ at Ground Zero
(Hep Cat)
*8.5*
Goes well with: Zeros, Gun Club, The Dickies, X
It’s been almost 30 years since The Gears released Rockin’ at Ground Zero, but now you can re-live the salad days of L.A. punk rock with a newly re-mastered re-release on vinyl, CD or two-CD deluxe edition that includes a compilation of vocalist Axxel G. Reese’s follow-up band, The D.I.’s (not to be confused with Orange County’s D.I.). Rockin’ features three tracks from the original 7-inch and five from the long-lost demo dating back to 1979.
It kicks off with “Baby Runaround,” a classic “girl done did me wrong” blues-rock number with a “Lipstick on Your Collar” backbeat. What makes listening to these songs so remarkable is that they’re mostly about the L.A. punk-rock scene. So, you can transport back to the days when Daryl Gates’ storm troopers swung their nightsticks first and asked questions later in “Elks Lodge Blues” and jump around your living room to “Don’t Be Afraid to Pogo.”
The Gears started playing toward the tail end of the original L.A. punk scene, making Rockin’ at Ground Zero essential for punk-rock completists. Most of the time, demos from the early days are must-haves for collectors and earaches for everyone else, but even casual fans will enjoy these crisp, catchy songs.
Nirvana
Live at Reading DVD+CD deluxe edition
(Sony)
*9.0*
Goes well with: Mudhoney, Melvins, Sonic Youth
The set opener of Nirvana’s newly re-mastered, headlining set at the epic rock festival in Reading, England, tells you all you need to know. A vicious, fire breathing tempo and unforgettable chorus sets “Breed” apart as one of Nevermind’s centerpieces. Most of that disc’s songs are here. Uncorked with a gorgeous sound mix and a motivated performance, it’s pure piss and adrenaline. A sonic monster terrorizing a sparse span of a stage set against an ocean of steamy mosh-kids, Kurt Cobain goes above and beyond in the first few chords of the song, and he sets the template for the rest of the exhausting (and exhaustive) song cycle.
Like Nirvana’s best work, it’s all in and of the moment, more alchemy than musicianship, though the latter is unnervingly tight, too. Frantic, chill-inducing sheets of serrated growl, K.C.’s overrun Fenders saturate bassist Krist Novoselic’s deep-rooted lines. At the focus of the fracas, Dave Grohl adds the kind of drumming that blends as a symphonic element, prompting listeners to wonder anew: How could three guys sound like nine?
Highlights like “Negative Creep,” “Polly” and the wistful “Sliver” prove that negative stereotypes applied to Cobain were devoid of the palpable joy and high (no pun) energy he could convey at will. When they were on and gave a shit—drug-and-demons-addled or not—there were few bands on the planet making as much beautiful noise.
Nouvelle Vague
3
(Peacefrog)
*7.2*
Goes well with: Bebel Gilberto, Carla Bruni, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Nouvelle Vague, effectively the world’s sexiest and hippest cover band, is back at it again. Their third installment, again produced and arranged by Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, is supposedly different from their 2004 self-titled debut and 2006’s Bande A Part because the arrangements are based on American country music, roots and bluegrass. If that’s true, I’m not hearing it. But that’s also not such a bad thing.
The shtick of taking post-punk and new-wave tunes and completely reinventing them as stoned bossa nova and slinky French ballads have worked in a multitude of ways. The first two albums have done fabulous business, while Collin and Libaux have proven themselves to be impeccable selectors. From Killing Joke and Joy Division to Buzzcocks and The Cramps, the duo has shown exemplary taste. And their version of The Dead Kennedy’s “Too Drunk to Fuck” may be one of the greatest covers of all time.
While 3 is more of the same, they ramp it up a bit by impressively enlisting original artists Martin Gore (“Master & Servant”) and Ian McCulloch (“All My Colours”). Covers, yes, but good ones at that. And an awfully long way from “Freebird.”
