Grammy winner for ahem - best new artist - Bon Iver, have unveiled a new video for their song "Towers". The beautifully shot video seems to have much in common cinematically with its predecessor, "Holocene". They both feature stunning cinematography, a great use of color and have the typical lugubrious feel of a Bon Iver project.
Believe it or not the visual narrative in the Towers video revolves around an old man and the sea. It's even an old man with a big white beard and the sea. No joke. And, while it may seem a bit trite, it's a lovely song and quite a well made video from a film making perspective. You can watch it below.
Bowerbirds Tour Dates:03-17 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03-21 Washington, DC – Black Cat
03-22 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
03-23 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-24 Boston, MA – Paradise
03-26 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa
03-27 Toronto, Ontario – The Garrison
03-29 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
03-31 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Centre
04-03 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04-04 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04-06 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
04-07 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
04-08 San Diego, CA – Casbah
04-11 Austin, TX – The Parish
04-12 Dallas, TX – The Loft
04-14 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
04-15 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Andrew Bird will release his newest album Break It Yourself on March 6th via Mom and Pop Records. Perhaps you even heard the first single, "Eyeoneye" when we streamed it just a few short weeks ago. Well, if your patience has waned awaiting the newest release from America's preeminent indie-pop whistler you can find something new to worry about because the kind folks over at NPR Music are streaming the whole record on their site. Writer Stephen Thompson also shares some of his initial thoughts on the record as a primer for those about to take their first listen.
In addition to the new long-player, Bird and his band will be hitting the road this spring. Below are his upcoming American dates.
Andrew Bird Tour Dates:
03-15 Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre
03-16 New Orleans, LA - The Howlin' Wolf
03-17 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
03-19 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
03-20 Columbus, OH - Southern Theatre
03-22 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
03-23 Kansas City, MO - The Uptown Theater
03-24 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
04-09 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
04-10 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Vogue
04-11 Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
04-13 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
04-18 Mesa, AZ - Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center
04-19 Santa Fe, NM - Lensic Performing Arts Center
04-20 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
05-03 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
05-04 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
05-05 New York, NY -Beacon Theatre
05-06 Boston, MA - House of Blues
05-08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-09 Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live
05-10 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
05-12 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
Legendary German techno group, Kraftwerk will be performing eight of their studio albums live this April at New York's Museum of Modern Art. The concerts will take place from April 10 through April 17 and will feature the band playing live versions of their now famous albums with the accompaniment of three dimensional video.
San Francisco's Girls were heavily - and justifiably - lauded for their wonderful 2011 LP, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Now, the band have prepped a single for the track "My Ma". True Panther will release the single on May 22nd and will limit the pressing to just 1000 copies.
To celebrate the release, the band have also assembled a video for the single. The heartfelt video follows an elderly woman around as she ruminates on her former life as an actress. The footage is endearing and works very well with the narrative of the song, but at times comes off a bit creepy as the woman rehearses her faces to prove that her acting chops are still in tact. Goofy, but ultimately, effective.
In addition to the forthcoming single, Girls will also be making a live appearance on Conan on March 22. Watch the video below.
In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been
spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date.
The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are
eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely
due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not
as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.
Ladies and germs, presenting installment five of Heavy Rotation . . .
John Cale | Vintage Violence Columbia Records | 1970
After leaving the Velvet Underground, John Cale wrote, what he referred to in his biography as "some very simple songs" and assembled a group of studio musicians to record Vintage Violence. The results are a wonderfully eclectic melange of styles from 60's pop (Cleo) to Nashville infused rock (Hello There) to smooth 70's rock (Gideon's Bible). While Cale would go on to make more assured records like Paris, 1919, the charming energy on this record is utterly infectious.
The Left Banke | Too Smash Records | 1968
This second album from baroque popsters, The Left Banke would be their last for nearly twenty years. The 30 minutes of this record simply fly by as the listener is inundated with intricate arrangements and lovely harmonies populating deftly crafted pop songs. It's a wonder that The Left Banke were never a bigger hit, despite their lone charting single, "Dont Walk Away Renee". One interesting bit of trivia is that several songs on Too feature the backing vocals of a young man named Steven Tallrico who later changed his name to Steven Tyler and went on to start a band you may have heard of called Aerosmith.
Camera Obscura | My Maudlin Career 4AD | 2009
This week's theme of compact pop records continues with the fourth offering from the Scottish quintet, Camera Obscura, whose entire oeuvre is a nod to the great song craft, production and power of early and mid-sixties Motown and girl groups. Led by songwriter and frontwoman, Tracyanne Campbell, Camera Obscura take their unabashed affection for retro-pop and create a new millennium version on that style. There are notes of orchestral pop, bright horn accompaniments and some wryly hilarious lyrics. Simply put, this record is a ton of fun and should be listened to loudly and with the windows open whenever possible.
Aretha Franklin | Aretha Now Atlantic Records | 1968
Starting off with the iconic "Think" and rolling through a powerhouse half hour, Aretha Now is the sort of record that grabs you by the scruff of the neck in its opening bars and lets go when the needle rests at the end of side two. Aretha's pipes treat us to the best renditions of "I Say A Little Prayer" and "You Send Me" that are available to ears anywhere. There is a rollicking great time to be had with "See Saw" and of course she reminds us as only she can that "The Night Time Is The Right Time". Maybe you've heard "Respect" too often or just recently saw that video for "Pink Cadillac". If so, please just throw this LP on the deck and be reminded why Aretha Franklin is a national treasure.
Grandaddy | The Sophtware Slump V2 | 2000
Grandaddy mastermind Jason Lytle has some pretty obvious influences. Jeff Lynne of ELO and Neil Young seem in a way to almost coat the songwriting and production choices on The Sophtware Slump. And yet, Lytle manages to rise above this by writing about an anachronistic universe where man and technology and nature meld together in a dissolved land of confusion and blurred boundaries. This intermingling geography and a melancholy nostalgia create a canvas on which Lytle's influences seem brand new rather than rehashed. It's a bit like listening to a record made by the love child of Mr. Blue Sky, H.D. Thoreau and Steve Jobs.
In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been
spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date.
The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are
eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely
due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not
as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.
Ladies and germs, presenting installment four of Heavy Rotation . . .
The Decemberists | The King Is Dead Capitol Records | 2011 For their sixth full length album, The Decemberists were able to meld their penchant for the British Folk Revival they'd been toying with on their previous two efforts with the tight, straightforward songs with which they began their career. The King Is Dead is still filled with the detailed narratives and maudlin characters that songwriter/frontman Colin Meloy has made his stock and trade. And, by embracing a neo-country arrangement and soliciting the assistance of Gillian Welch and Peter Buck, this album is easily the most accessible and memorable of the band's entire canon.
Watch the Decemberists play the entire album live in the video below.
Le Congo Danse | Compilation Pathe/EMI | circa 1960s
This collection of Congolese bands from the 1960s is one of the more remarkable records in my collection. French record label Pathe compiled this LP in the late 60's for the cosmopolitan Parisian set. The result, more than 40 years later is a ridiculously energetic and unique set of songs that typify their place and time. Google queries have led me to discover just how rare this collection is and how expensive it can run to get a copy for you to add to your collection. Which is too bad, because it's an absolute gem.
Arcade Fire | Neon Bible Merge Records | 2007
Arcade Fire often seem like the perfect poster children for the indie-pop meets mega pop world. Their epic, yet utterly accessible songs forged with lush instrumentation and bravado are a masterful example of the bridge that exists between the halls of hipsterdom and the mass appeal of popular music. My kids especially enjoy this band and I've been able to use their affection for Arcade Fire to springboard them in to other musical experiences that seem pretty offbeat to most 11 and 13 year olds.
David Bowie | Hunky Dory RCA | 1971
In Many respects, Hunky Dory seems like the first truly Bowie of David Bowie's records. The first side alone contains the legendary tracks "Changes", "Oh! You Pretty Things" and "Life On Mars". This LP was just released just a year before Bowie invented his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego and a full six years before he began his now famous collaboration with producer Brian Eno. Bowie's charm and power ooze from the vinyl, but never get in the way of the remarkable songs herein. While his first three records contain moments of greatness mixed with very average material, this seems to be the first occasion where he knocked the whole thing out of the park.
R.E.M. | Reckoning IRS Records | 1984
What else is there to say about this masterpiece of American rock and roll? Reckoning is one of the cornerstone's of my musical upbringing and a record I have never tired of hearing. There are very few records that seem as perfect to me as this one does. This is one of those ten records I would have to take to that mythical desert island where you listen to records all day long.
A little less than a year ago I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. This conclusion was arrived at after I had been through a series of panic attacks that I had mistaken for asthma flare-ups. Once my doctor and I came up with a game plan, I was given some anti-anxiety meds to take on a daily basis and a prescription for Xanax to deal with panic attacks that were too much to manage with breathing techniques and other coping mechanisms.
For the first few months of this treatment plan, I felt a great deal better. Anyone who has dealt with panic attacks and anxiety is aware that often the worst parts of these episodes is the fear that arises from not knowing what is happening to your own body. The attacks are usually punctuated with feelings of dread along with physical symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain and tingling throughout the upper body. Like most sufferers my symptoms were very typical. Knowing that these actual, physical symptoms I was experiencing were mostly manifestations of my thoughts and emotions made them easier to talk myself through. But not always.
Recently, these symptoms have become more constant even though I have maintained my normal regimen of meds. The panic attacks now are often preceded or followed by exhaustion. In addition to my previous symptoms, I have become more moody and down even when I have not had outright attacks. These are hallmark signs of depression and anxiety and I am just one of millions of sufferers. Realizing this was just like having any other illness, my recent battle with depression led me to try to find a local psychologist or counselor to help me deal with these issues.
Since I have health insurance, I presumed that the best place for me to start was by calling my insurance provider to find out how much mental health coverage I had and which therapists in my area participated with their plan. After bouncing through a labyrinthine automated telephone system and waiting on hold for several minutes, I was informed that I only had mental health coverage if I was admitted to a hospital or institution. There was, as the terse response from the other end of the line explained it, "No outpatient mental health coverage on my plan."
The health insurance I purchase is from the biggest provider in my state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. This is a non-profit insurance group that charges me more than $600 per month to cover just my wife and I. Because we own our business, I am not on a corporate plan or getting insurance from the office where my spouse works. And yes, that $600 does not even cover my two children. We get special coverage for them through a state children's insurance plan that is marvelous and is also a Blue Cross plan.
Not only is there no "outpatient mental health" coverage on my plan, but my wife and I only receive two doctor visits and a physical each year without paying a hefty co-pay based on the percentage of the cost of the visit. But, If we get sick three times in one year, there is at least some degree of coverage. In other words, if you have the flu, you can pay a part of the bill and get treated. If you have depression, anxiety and panic attacks you can pay for it on your own or you can just learn to live with it.
This is an illness that affects my family in a very real way as well. When I suffer through bouts of depression or anxiety, I am much more likely to be irritable and less likely to enjoy the scant opportunities that the four of us get for family time during a typical work week that is overfilled with commitments, distractions and long days at the office. In short, this disease is keeping me from living a full and complete life, just like any serious disease would do to my body.
Virtually the entire medical community acknowledges that mental illness is just as real as physical illnesses like cancer, diabetes or a viral infection. So, why do we allow our insurance companies to treat them like they're vastly different from each other? I do not choose to be depressed and I sure as shit don't like pulling my car over and clutching my chest in a full blown panic attack wondering if I am going to die or if I am going crazy. The illness is real and I live with it everyday, and I need to treat it. Sadly, after I have paid more than $5000 per year for sub-par coverage, I don't have a lot of extra money lying around to pay hundreds more a month for the psychological treatment I have come to require for my own happiness and well being. Certainly, there are more demure ways to phrase it, but this situation is bullshit.
This circumstance is not the first time in my life that I have felt bamboozled by the insurance industry. When our youngest daughter was just a toddler, she was hospitalized several times for asthma and our co-pays and other medical charges nearly bankrupted us, even though we had insurance at the time. Living in this day and age with no health insurance is simply a gamble our family cannot take and the coverages that are available to us as one family looking for a plan are shoddy at best. The system costs too much and provides too little in return, but there are seemingly no worthwhile alternatives.
When I hear people rail on those trying to fix the health care system I am filled with rage and rancor. If you have not lived through these circumstances and have never been pushed to the point that you felt you were going to lose everything because of an illness, there is no way to explain to you how broken the system really is. Care costs too much, insurance is merely a necessary evil and stop gap measure and the situation keeps rolling in the wrong direction.
I don't claim to have all, or even any of the answers, but I know that millions of lives are damaged by this broken system and no one truly seems interested in finding an actual way to solve the problem. Sure, there is political jockeying and election year theory, but never a comprehensive plan to get a handle on this issue that is sending people to the poor house. Hell, the only way I'll ever be able to afford to treat my illness is if it sends me to the nut house.
Stanley Kubrick self portrait with showgirl Rosemary Williams.
Before his days as a renowned filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick mad a name for himself as a photographer with Look Magazine. Now, the website Twisted Sifter has put together a very nice piece on Kubrick's photographic legacy by compiling some of his best images of New York city in the late 1940's.
The collection is an impressive array of New York street scenes and people that deftly capture its place and time. And, these images seem a direct connection to the visual style of Kubrick's early films like The Killing and Killer's Kiss.
UPDATE: Perusing the web and totally by happenstance, I just stumbled upon another set of Kubrick photos over at Retronaut. This time, the collection comes from a trip Kubrick made to Chicago in 1949, working again for Look Magazine. These images are just as impressive as his New York work.
If you're a Beach Boys fan who has anxiously awaited the band's proposed reunion with Brian Wilson, prepare to be very excited. All of the surviving members of the seminal California band will reunite for a live performance for the first time in more than twenty years at the upcoming Grammy Awards, according to a report from Billboard Magazine.
Now, prepare to have your hopes dashed back again unless you envisioned that this long awaited reunion should include contributions from Maroon 5 and Foster The People. Yep, two bands that have - at least on the surface - jack shit to do with the Beach Boys are going to muddy the water of what otherwise has the potential to be a very interesting moment in popular music history. It seems like Brian Wilson could arrange some dope harmonies for "Pumped Up Kicks" but imagining how to incorporate the 5 Maroons is beyond comprehension right now. You'll have to tune into the Grammys on Feb. 12 to find out for yourself.
The Beach Boys are currently working on a record slated for release later this year and will kick off a lengthy tour with the reunited lineup on April 27 in New Orleans.
Universal Pictures has revealed the initial trailer for the fourth installment of The Bourne series. Haters throughout the blogosphere have been chattering incessantly about the film since it was announced several months ago that Matt Damon would not be reprising his role in the film as Jason Bourne. Instead, Jeremy Renner stars as Aaron Cross, another recruit in the Agency's Treadstone Program.
The first look at the trailer certainly makes it look like Renner has the goods to pull this sort of thing off, and the supporting cast of Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, and Stacy Keach seem like great counterparts to make this happen. The Bourne Legacy was written and directed by Tony Gilroy and hits theaters on August 3, 2012.
The editors over at Paste Magazine have compiled their list of the best movie poster from each of the last 100 years at the movies. Some iconic choices like Metropolis, Sunset Boulevard and Casablanca of course made the list. But, because each year only gets one entry, there are some questionable omissions. Most obviously, how in the hell did they manage to presume that the broadsheet for Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman was better than the glorious poster for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo?
In any case, you can see the full list on the Paste Magazine site and check out the Vertigo poster below just so you know once and for all how remarkably great it is.
As previously mentioned here before, indie darlings The Shins have a new long player called The Port Of Morrow coming out on March 20. For a few weeks now twee kids in every neighborhood across America have been rocking to the first single from the record, "Simple Song".
Now, the band have unveiled a b-side to the single, entitled "September". In addition to that joyous news, The Shins have also plotted a tour across much of the nation for the spring and early summer.
You can see a video for "September" below and find out what day James Mercer and Co. will hit your town.
The Shins Tour Dates:
April 13—Cosmopolitan/The Pool—Las Vegas, Nevada
April 22—Civic Auditorium—Santa Cruz, California
April 23—Robert Mondavi Center—Davis, California
April 25—Grand Sierra Resort & Casino—Reno, Nevada
May 25—Les Schwab Amphitheatre—Bend, Oregon
May 28—Red Butte Garden Amphitheater—Salt Lake City, Utah
May 29— Red Rocks Amphitheatre—Morrison, Colorado
May 31—Harrahs Council Bluffs—Council Bluffs, Iowa
June 4—The Pageant—St Louis, Missouri
June 5—LC Indoor Pavilion—Columbus, Ohio
June 6—Fillmore Detroit—Detroit, Michigan
June 8—Masonic Auditorium—Cleveland, Ohio
June 9—Iroquois Amphitheatre—Louisville, Kentucky
Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, best known for his novels Freedom and The Corrections, recently spoke at a literary festival about his concern over the widespread use of e-readers like the Kindle. In his rant, he relayed his fears over the impermanence of the virtual book model.
“I think, for serious readers, a sense of permanence has always been part of
the experience. Everything else in your life is fluid, but here is this text
that doesn’t change. Maybe nobody will care about printed books 50 years from now, but I do. When
I read a book, I’m handling a specific object in a specific time and place.
The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same
thing - that’s reassuring."
Now, UK columnist for The Observer newspaper, Henry Porter has fired a salvo directly back at Franzen. The piece rebuts Franzen's arguments and fully endorses the idea that expanding technology does not eliminate older forms of expression. Porter also makes some great comparisons between the e-reader and its place in publishing and the art world today. You can read the full piece on The Observer's website.
The issue of technology and how it influences our culture and our behaviors is eminently fascinating and has been discussed on the virtual pages of the Sabauteur previously. This is a topic of debate that is going nowhere anytime soon.
In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been
spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date.
The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are
eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely
due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not
as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.
Ladies and germs, presenting installment three of Heavy Rotation . . .
Miles Kurosky | The Desert Of Shallow Effects Miles Kurosky for The People's Committee for the Preservation Of Sound | 2010 Miles Kurosky disbanded his brilliant band Beulah, in 2004. The
demise of the band, due mostly to personal frictions and a lack of
momentum, is chronicled in the wonderful film, A Good Band Is Easy To
Kill. Kurosky was obviously the driving creative force behind Beulah,
but personal setbacks and health problems delayed the completion of his
first solo record for more than five years. The Desert Of Shallow
Effects reminds us it was worth the wait. The songs are devastatingly
personal and emotionally wrought, but littered with humor and playful
innuendo. Kurosky is a master of using jubilant arrangements to play
counterpoint to his often dour narratives.
Vampire Weekend | Contra XL Recordings | 2010
When the first Vampire Weekend record came out, I largely ignored on the basis of their effete, trust fund Ivy League indie pop pedigree. Their self-titled debut came off like a frat boy version of Graceland and I tuned out. Then along came the second album, Contra and I realized that I had missed the boat completely. Sure, the influences are a bit cloying and the over-privileged mystique seems to have some validity, the alluring hooks of this record are undeniable.
The Housemartins | London 0, Hull 4 Go Discs! | 1986
The Housemartins are such an unabashedly British band that they named this LP after a fantasized football (soccer to the Ugly Americans) score of their hometown team scorching the big city twits from London. In 11 songs on this record, their Britishness is reinforced time and again with colloquial phrasing, that UK brand of white boy soul and some rambunctiously energetic 2 minute pop tunes. With a chip on their shoulders and the sound of a blue collar Smiths, this record sounds remarkably fresh and fun for its age.
Fruit Bats | Spelled In Bones Sub Pop Records | 2005
Spelled In Bones marks the third record Fruit Bats effort and the most fully realized and poppy of their canon. Combining nostalgia with first person narrative and a penchant for a production style of the 70's, primary Fruit Bat, Eric Johnson crafts a world it's very easy to get lost within. The songs are warm and inviting and weave together like a beach novel.
Tom Waits | Swordfish Trombones Island/Def Jam | 1983
This is the album where Waits made the jump from his loose lipped, piano lounge act persona to more of a musical junk-pile mentality and a step away from traditional songwriting. Even though the record is a major departure from his more straightforward work to that point, this record is filled with amazing harm, humor and nostalgia. Waits is a master of exposition and geography in his songs. Just one listen to "In The Neighborhood" will bring you back to your childhood on a warm summer's day near the house where you grew up. And it will make you smile.
During spring break of 1981, my parents took me to Washington DC. I was nearly nine years old and elated about the trip. We saw the capitol and the White House. There were visits to the various halls of the Smithsonian and while eating at a table in front of a pizza joint, a motorcade went by with Anwar Sadat and his aides inside. Do you have any idea how exciting it is for an eight - almost nine - year old to get to see the President of Egypt in the flesh? As great as that was, and still is, the highlight of the trip would be going to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. Except that when we arrived, the dino exhibit was "Closed For Renovations".
After a full fifteen minutes of sobbing, snot-wiping and wishing it to not be so, my folks corralled me away from the gathered onlookers and took me for ice cream. Even a double scoop of chocolate chip could not heal my wounds that day. So, my parents began hatching a plan to remedy the situation later that very summer. They said that after school let out, we would take a trip to Toronto.
Now you know you're loved when your folks plan another vacation just to make up for the fact that the dinosaurs you've pined so hard for, were unseeable. I mean it's just bones and wire, but my third grade soul could accept no substitute. We soldiered happily through our remaining time in the nation's capitol and I began to fantasize about the collection of T-Rexes and Brachiosaurs that the Royal Ontario Museum had to offer.
After the school year ended my folks made good on their promise. We packed the car and headed to Canada, which from our home in Michigan's thumb, was only four or so hours away. That evening we checked in to our hotel and in the lobby I found a brochure for the Royal Ontario Museum. I pored over its contents and photos until I finally fell asleep, dreaming of running with the Stegosaurus and watching the Pterodactyls fly overhead.
We arrived the hour the museum opened and I insisted that we head for the dinosaurs first. Our tickets were handed over and guide maps were doled out and I bee-lined for the dinosaur wing. Almost immediately, I saw the sign. CLOSED FOR RENOVATION. Could this be possible? Was there some great conspiracy to prevent me from seeing the creatures of the Jurassic era? After the initial stage of denial, I moved to the second and most prolonged stage of grief for the American eight year old: Anger and Tears.
A full meltdown ensued and it was worse than the D.C. episode. My sobs and cries echoed back and forth of the marble halls of Toronto's glorious old museum. There is much of the next several hours that I have blocked out of my memory completely. It seems that we must have seen the rest of the museum, but I have no memory of it. Until our early dinner that evening at the Spaghetti Factory, I can recall virtually nothing.
After dinner, the suggestion surfaced that maybe a movie would cheer me up. I was not in the mood, but I was quickly instructed that I would not, "Sit in the hotel room feeling sorry for myself". The vacation was a family outing and we were going to see a movie.
Arriving at the theater, I saw a cartoonish poster with a series of images that included snakes, a man appearing to be in mid-scream, and a guy with a whip wearing a fancy hat. My bullshit meter went through the roof and I assumed that I was being dragged to some dumb-ass Disney thing with a couple of clever kids and an evil witch or some shit. Never mind that there were no kids anywhere on the poster. It seemed certain that I was being patronized with a sort of dreck I didn't even like anymore. The sophisticated tastes of a Midwestern nine year old were too much for my parents to handle and they just ducked into the first movie hall they could find with a "family style film" showing that night. Oh Lord, how wrong I was.
It seems certain to me now that after thirty years of consideration, in many ways I had not truly seen a film before Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Sure, I had watched lots of movies, and even enjoyed them greatly. But, this was an experience alone unto itself.
The music made the blood pump faster. Harrison Ford's charm and cool and wit made you positive he was the coolest dude on the planet. I watched Nazis and Egyptian and Gypsies fight over lost relics and talk about the Bible like a treasure map in a Robert Louis Stevenson novel and not like some boring ass Sunday school lesson. This shit can make the Bible seem interesting? I'm sold.
From the motorcycle chases to fighting natives in the jungle to wondering why it had to be snakes, and of course to that massive and unforgettable boulder, I was utterly transfixed. The memory of missed dinosaurs vanished and I was ready to trade my natural history penchant in for a pith helmet and an Archaeology workshop at a moment's notice. The misery and horror from earlier that very day had melted away in the powerful glow of a projector.
Hundreds of movies have this effect on millions of people. It is corny and trite and obvious to say that movies are transformative. That of course, is inherent in their nature. What happened to me in that theater in a country not so far away was that I noticed that power for the first time. I realized I was in the church of the cinema and I was a devout believer.
I now have children of my own and have watched Raiders with them. For them it is another movie they sort of enjoyed that their old man likes a little too much. It feels great to watch it with them and I still love it a great deal. But even with them, it can never be like that first time that night in Toronto when I was just a sad little boy hunting for dinosaurs.
