This Is The Last…

Mr. Destiny has announced the dates for Iceland Airwaves 2006! It will be October 18-22. The first names playing at the festival will be announced sometime next spring. I know it might seem like a long time away from now but I’m still very exited after seeing amazing bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Ratatat, Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Architecture in Helsinki, New Radio, Zoot Woman, Dr. Disco Shrimp and Apparat Organ Quartet playing at the festival this year. I’m very curious what bands he’ll come up with next year!

Its that time of year again, you know the time when everyone does their top lists of 2005. I came across a link to this on Brooklyn Vegan’s site, this is a listing of Do Copenhagen’s Top 50 Music Videos of 2005.

Click here.

This site has a link to each music video. They have the Arcade Fire, Gorillaz, Xiu Xiu, Sigur Ros, Aphex Twin, and Jose Gonzales to name a few.

Last month on My Blog is Poop, they had tips on “How To Make A Hip End of the Year ‘Best Albums’ List”. Pretty funny.

Over this holiday weekend, Jason and I watched 3 Asian movies (not on purpose).

Friday night we went out for sushi and watched House of Flying Daggers. I thought this was a very good movie. Action-packed with a nice love story. If you liked Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Hero, then this would be right up your alley with the vivid colors and beautifully choreographed fight scenes.

Saturday night we saw the Mystery of Rampo. The main character, Edogawa Rampo, is an author who has just been censored by the government. After burning copies of his drafts, his assistant shows him an article in the newspaper that is identical to one of his stories. Reality and fantasy get intermingled. Rampo seeks out the lady from the newspaper article, that’s suspected of murder, and she’s just as he imagined her. This movie was weird, the ending was weak, but the overall story was very interesting. The opening scene is Rampo’s story told in an animated form, which was a nice touch. If you’re looking for something different, than this is worth checking out.

Monday afternoon, Jason and I saw Memoirs of a Geisha. I had read the book and was excited to see the movie version, which kept true to the story. This is a coming of age story. This is a good-looking movie - beautiful women, gorgeous silk kimonos, and complicated hair-do’s. There’s a scene where they’re walking through the blossoming cherry trees that is breathtaking. They try to say that a geisha is not a prostitute, but more like a classy escort. I think that’s splitting hairs. The woman are sold into a form of slavery, they can’t leave their geisha house. The wealthy, powerful men choose geishas as company instead of their wives. Its kind of sad, but overall a pretty good movie.

After the movie Jason and I played a game of Go, which I’m just learning.

On Boing Boing today…

The woman dancing in this video is as limber as a wet noodle.

Link

This makes my stomach feel a little squishy.

I just came across this on Brooklyn Vegan’s site…

From Matador Records: “While venues and dates are still being confirmed, we can announce that Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers will be touring together in early ‘06 throughout North America, the former in support of the forthcoming ‘The Life Pursuit’, the latter behind the consensus pick for the album of 2006, ‘Twin Cinema’.”

Quinton’s review of the New Pornographers’ show from October.

I’ve never seen either play, so I’m excited.

I just read this on Boing Boing…

A New Mexico judge granted a temporary restraining order against David Letterman based on a statement by a woman named Colleen Nestler who claims that the talk show host has caused her “mental cruelty” and “sleep deprivation” over the last eleven years. According to Nestler, Letterman seems to have employed a form of remote influence via television. From the Associated Press:

Nestler’s application for a restraining order was accompanied by a six-page typed letter in which she said Letterman used code words, gestures and “eye expressions” to convey his desires for her.

She wrote that she began sending Letterman “thoughts of love” after his “Late Show” began in 1993, and that he responded in code words and gestures, asking her to come East.

She said he asked her to be his wife during a televised “teaser” for his show by saying, “Marry me, Oprah.” Her letter said Oprah was the first of many code names for her and that the coded vocabulary increased and changed with time.

You can read the full article here. I think its pretty ridiculous that any judge would take this woman seriously. Poor David Letterman has had more than his fair share of crazy fans. Earlier this year, the person painting his house had plotted to kidnap his 10 month old son. There was another woman named Margaret Ray who broke into his house, stole his car, and introduced herself as Mrs. David Letterman.

Jason and I just watched the movie Enduring Love. Its about a guy that starts being stalked by a guy he met in a freak tragedy. The stalker believes that fate brought them together and that he is being communicated with through the opening and closing of the drapes. Its like a modern day version of Fatal Attraction and its got the cute mom from the adorable movie In America.

Did you guys catch Saturday Night Live this weekend? They did this skit the Chronic of Narnia Rap. This was the funniest SNL episode I’ve seen in a long time.

You can check it out here.

On January 7th 2006 the rare event will happen that iceland’s biggest names in music will come together and play at a concert called HÆTTA!. This is all done in the purpose to remind people that the icelandic nature is special and should be treated like such. All the artist will give their work and most of the staff working for the concert also.

The concert will be hold in Laugardalshöllinn and the icelandic artists who are playing are: Björk, Múm, Sigur Rós, Ham, Magga Stína, Hjálmar, KK, Rass, Ghostigital and Egó. And then there are the almost icelanders: Damon Albarn, Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan.

Last night we saw Sons and Daughters at the Gaelic Club. As good as their records are, this is a band that has really perfected their live show. Singer/Guitarist Scott Paterson performs like Mick Jones from the Clash but with better looks and a voice like a crocodile. And your eyes never seem to leave lead vocalist Adele Bethel as she dances/runs/convulses around the stage and lets her voice hit full-blast; her voice is so loud and penetrating. It’s really fun to watch them get a room full of people excited about music on a Tuesday night amongst a city devastated and in shock over riots. By the time they played the song ‘Johnny Cash’ from their first EP the crowd was going crazy. It’s a nice feeling.

Ampop just released a new album called My Delusions and I have to admit that I’ve become addicted to it. I don’t know why but maybe it’s the few hours of daylight that has put me in a mood for lazy low key music. My Delusions is just perfect for those long dark rainy days. Maybe I like them for the fact that they remind me of Radiohead in some way. Or because the singer has this cutie/funny icelandic accent when he sings in english. Or cause the three of them have sweet childish looks. Or cause I have thing for funny drummers.

Biggi, Jón Geir and Kjartan, the guys in Ampop, haven’t really been all that visible in Iceland until now. They just recently got 3 nominations for the Icelandic Music Award 2006, for best pop album, best music video and best new act. Which kind of proofs my point that even though they have released 3 records they are nominated for best “new” act.

(this post is dedicated to my favorite non tea drinking brit)