The Roomies DVD Featured on DVDExtras.net

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Jared Yanez

A little while back we heard from the folks at DVDExtras.net, inviting us to submit the details for The Roomies Special Edition DVD to be included in their archive. DVDExtras.net is a relatively new site that’s been growing into a comprehensive database of DVD/Blu-ray extras. With that in mind they’ve been reaching out to independents like us in addition to compiling all the major releases.

We were stoked when they offered us featured placement for a week on their site. The Roomies is currently up on their sidebar, perched above an ad featuring a charming young woman with more thorough facial tattooing than Mike Tyson. So we’re clearly in good company.

Visit DVDExtras.net and have a look at the comprehensive list of goodies featured on The Roomies Special Edition DVD. And if you’re a filmmaker yourself and want to get your movie into the archive, here are the submission requirements and here’s where you send ‘em.

Was Childs the Thing? Killer Film Analysis from Rob Ager Settles It

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Jared Yanez

John Carpenter’s The Thing is an undeniable classic and one of the greatest horror films of all time. The famously ambiguous ending is the perfect cap to a perfect horror movie. Often, when a movie leaves you with an ending like that, there’s never enough evidence to support a definitive reading. This doesn’t appear to be one of those cases though.

Rob Ager, a filmmaker and writer from Liverpool, England, has put together a pretty damn convincing case for his interpretation. The analysis is an absolute must-see for fans of The Thing and filmmaking in general. There’s a lot to learn from here.

If you liked that, you should check out Ager’s site, Collative Learning. He’s got quite a few more film analysis videos and much, much more on a variety of topics. Lots to see and learn from here. If you’re looking for a few places to start, I really dug this short take on Hellraiser, this dissection of the middle part of Pulp Fiction, and this massively detailed thesis on The Shining.

In Heaven, Orcakinder’s Fine

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Jared Yanez

You thought you killed the habit but you only gave it wings.

Oh Look, Max Landis Made the Best “Death of Superman” Movie

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Jared Yanez

“The Death and Return of Superman” was a comic book milestone for all the wrong reasons. It was one of those rare events where the hype broke into the mainstream and even major news outlets were reporting on the presumed death of an American icon. Nevermind that superheroes rarely stayed dead even by this point – non-comic book readers weren’t privy to that yet. All the attention set a lousy precedent for the industry and there’ve been many, many, many attempts to replicate its impact.

In spite of all that, “The Death and Return of Superman” was, to put it gently, crap. The bar for final Superman stories had already been set pretty damn high by Alan Moore with “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow,” but “Death…” manages to smack its head on the bar and fall over bleeding and concussed.

I don’t think there’s a better possible treatment of the story than what Max Landis (writer of the awesome-looking film Chronicle), producer Bryan Basham and crew have put together here:

Can you believe we almost got an adaptation of this story directed by Tim Burton, starring Nic Cage and written by Kevin Smith?

Looking forward to seeing Chronicle and definitely rooting for Landis after seeing this. Here’s hoping for more videos like this one. There’s certainly no shortage of material for it.

New Six-Song EP from Quinn Allan Available Now

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Jared Yanez

Colyalcolor or The Great Physician and Jack, a Six-Song EP by Quinn Allan

Quinn Allan’s released his first set of recordings since his debut album, The Story of Elston Gunn. Here’s what he’s got to say on that subject:

After my first solo recording in 2007, The Story Of Elston Gunn, I was excited to get back to releasing material again, as the songs recorded on my first record were some of my earliest written. I was eager to show listeners how my writing has evolved, how my sound has grown. Life has a funny way of putting things in the way though. I started acting and things were really picking up, as time went on I found myself picking up my guitar less and less. I’d play a few shows here and there, but hadn’t had the time to record any new material. Finally the day came when my friend Andy Parish and I had the chance to sit down and record some of my newer songs.

We had a blast making this, and the addition of electric guitar into my mix, as well as Andy’s handiness with all things electronic, lent themselves well to my new sound. We started with the track I’m most excited about “The Weight Of My Words”, a newer song I wrote about my expectations of a life as a musician clashing with reality. Next we decided to step it up a bit, flowing from the soft and intimate opening track, to something a bit more rockin’. “Not That I Think” is a song about packing up and moving on, a true story from my last few weeks living in San Diego before moving to Portland. Slowing it down again we blended “Seasons” right into the end of the previous track. A somber and heavy song that follows the natural emotions that come once the anger subsides, “Seasons” is a song true to my heart. Next comes “Carroll and the Crowe”. The Crowe in the title refers to Stephanie Crowe, a childhood friend of mine who was taken before her time. The song is a continuation of Bob Dylan’s protest masterpiece, “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”, and follows up on where that story is now, some 50 years later. It juxtaposes these two tragic deaths and highlights the feelings we all have who are left behind. Near the end of this short EP is “Bury The Dead” a song about going out with a bang till there’s nothing left to do but bury your tired body at the end of the night. Lastly, the “Outro” track is a pleasant little instrumental song to wind down the feelings of the whole EP. It was inspired by some of the gorgeous guitar work that Nick Drake laid down in his historic Pink Moon sessions.

With 6 solid songs, Colyalcolor Or The Great Physician And Jack is one of my best recordings to date. Oh, and ask me about the title some time, there’s a story about that.

Colyalcolor or The Great Physician and Jack is available on iTunes, Rhapsody, CD Baby and Amazon.com.

Awesome Hawaii Time-Lapse from Page Films

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jared Yanez

Lance Page is back with another time-lapse project, this time featuring South Point, the southern-most tip of Hawaii and the USA altogether. Have a looksie:

Lance really captured the beauty of the island, so if you haven’t been to Hawaii, just watch this on a balmy day and you’re set. The South Point video is just as jaw-dropping and moving as his previous time-lapse, the now-famous Portland Nights video. Great tunes from Hisham Dahud and Derrek Domino and props to Troy Page for location audio and production assistance.

Find out more about the making of this video and check out the production photos over at Page Films.

Mongrel Digs: AudioPorn Central

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Jared Yanez

Ear, Pop. Jared Yanez made this.

AudioPorn Central has quickly become one of my favorite daily stops on the internet. It’s a music blog that updates six times a day with music videos, streaming tracks and free downloads. I found the site while searching for mash-ups and it was like hitting the jackpot. There aren’t many days that go by between mash-up posts. In fact, here’s a nice one from yesterday by João Brasil that’s available for download:

CAVALO DE PRAISE – FATBOY SLIM VS. PATY – JOÃO BRASIL – FOLKATRUA VJs/BOOTIE RIO from bootie rio on Vimeo.

And here’s another good’n by DJ Schmolli, posted here:

And another by Phil Retrospector, posted here:

Killing Kids from Phil RetroSpector on Vimeo.

(That reminds me, I’ve heard that MGMT song in maybe fifty thousand mash-ups yet somehow managed never to hear the original version. It’s going to be weird finally hearing it the way MGMT actually intended.)

These are just a few from their mash-up selection, right out of the first two pages. I’ve spent days going through and I haven’t reached the end.

Besides the mash-up cornucopia, AudioPorn Central‘s turned me on to some awesome stuff most every day. Like today, for instance, this and this are pretty damn stellar.

But I’ve gotta say, the one thing they’ve posted that’s earned my undying gratitude is a mash-up of two cherished icons:

Thank you, internet.

Anyway, if you like music and need more of it, this’d be the place to go.