Happy Birthday To Mr. IGGY POP!

There are very few musical performers who's birthdays I'll mention on this site but it is Iggy Pop's birthday today. He is 63 and can still kick the ass of any band on the planet.

Our good friend Jeff Woods has a great piece on Mr. Pop over at Explore Music and does a much better job then I would do. And not only do I concur with his thoughts, I will just reiterate, Raw Power is one of those albums you must at least listen to if not out right own. Your ears and your brain deserve to hear this album. A couple years ago, Iggy remixed it his own way but I must admit, I kind of like the original David Bowie mix (which was just re-released on cd last week).

So since Jeff (I can call him Jeff because he puts up with my emails on a regular basis and has yet to put out a restraining order on me) covered the history of Iggy, I figured my view will be a little more personal.

For all of his power, energy and just raw man-ness, Iggy Pop is responsible for one of my favorite rock love songs of all time.

Yes I am a sap.

Beside You comes off Iggy's American Caesar album which seems to have disappeared in terms of fans but for whatever reason, it's one of my favorites. I first heard the song on a special Much Music did where they had Iggy take over Much for what I think was around two hours (if anyone has a bootleg of this show, let me know, I WANT IT). At the time I was really head over heels with a girl a year younger then me and Beside You summed up everything my over dramatic teenage horromned brain felt for this young lady. But even out of my teens, this song has stuck with my something fierce. I have a short story that's inspired by the song and video that I may one day unleash on the public and if I ever get half decent on guitar, this song would probably be shoehorned into the set list whether any of the other players liked it or not.

One last note, one of the most surprising things about this rock ballad isn't just that it came from Iggy but that his co-writer on the song is none other then Sex Pistol Steve Jones.

Take a look at Jeff's piece here and then watch the following two videos:




And if you need a bit more rock after that sweetness, here he is with peaches beating on Zombies.

GraveyTrain in Toronto!

Hey everyone.

Just wanted to do a quick post letting you know our friends April Mullen and Tim Doiron from Way of the Tosser have a brand spankin new flick out called GravyTrain.

Adam and I have yet to see it but the trailer looks pretty good.



If you live in the Toronto area as well as Ottawa and Montreal, I'd check it out. And while you're at it, check out their official site here

Help get us on TV...again...

Hey everyone, time to rally the troops!

Bite TV and The Conventioneers are looking at doing another live tv event much like they did last year.

And they've asked for who their fans want to have on.

So here's where all 62 of you come in and your friends.

I want you to go to The Conventioneers fan page on facebook and demand that we are brought on the show as Anime/Nerd experts.

The link to the page is

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=2260268847

What's in it for you?

Well I'm not one of those guys who asks of people without offering something in return so here's the deal. I will have prizes for the following:

1) First Person to post on the conventioneers page asking for us to be on the show.

2) Best written post explaining to the conventioneers why they should have us on the show.

3) The person who gets the most people to go on to the conventioneers facebook page and demand that TATANS be part of the show! (for this one you will have to send me an email listing the people you got to do this for you. All of these people MUST be friends of yours on facebook so it can be verrified)

All entries must be done with respect to The Conventioneers (ie don't threaten them or do anything retarded) but other then that be creative. Post youtube videos, sing songs, whatever you want, just help us get on the show.

What kind of prizes you may be asking?

Currently I'm sitting on a stack of dvds from Anchor Bay home entertainment, trade paperbacks and some rpg books from Blue Beetle Comics.

All prizes can be mailed to you or picked up at Anime North.

Help make this happen!

Brent

Episode 19

After a few weeks in which Adam was unable to work on the episodes (Primarily due to working 15-hour days to prepare for a trial), the Two Assholes are back, with a far more relaxed episode. After the 3.5 hours of the Assies, and a couple of months of special episodes preceding them, we just needed to cool down, and get back to basics with a very simple, sit-down episode.

So, we bring you Episode 19, where we focus on retro gaming on modern consoles, the Muppets, and some bone-headed plagiarism. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as we did.

Lest you worry about further delays in getting episodes out in the coming weeks, we already have 3 further episodes recorded as of this date, so the hard work is already done, and we just have to focus on finalizing the Assholey goodness so that it can be shipped out to you via the internetz.

Download Episode 19 - iPod Enhanced Version

Episode 19 (High Quality)

After a few weeks in which Adam was unable to work on the episodes (Primarily due to working 15-hour days to prepare for a trial), the Two Assholes are back, with a far more relaxed episode. After the 3.5 hours of the Assies, and a couple of months of special episodes preceding them, we just needed to cool down, and get back to basics with a very simple, sit-down episode.

So, we bring you Episode 19, where we focus on retro gaming on modern consoles, the Muppets, and some bone-headed plagiarism. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as we did.

Lest you worry about further delays in getting episodes out in the coming weeks, we already have 3 further episodes recorded as of this date, so the hard work is already done, and we just have to focus on finalizing the Assholey goodness so that it can be shipped out to you via the internetz.

Download Episode 19 (High Quality) - iPod Enhanced Version

Take Flight Review

Howdy folks.

As you probably know, I got a chance to do an interview with Miss Juliet Landau a little while back regarding her short documentary Take Flight. It's a short doc on Gary Oldman's creative process as he directed a video for Jewish hip-hop band Chutzpah...which he shot on cell phones.

Well as luck would have it, I actually got to sit down and watch Take Flight and thought I'd do a review on it. Juliet was an absolute sweet heart with us (I'm really looking for an excuse to talk to her again as it was a great interview that I'd love to follow up) but that doesn't mean I'm going to pull any punches either.

Take Flight is a rather interesting look at Gary Oldman. He's smiling, he's directing, it's a side of him that we've never really seen before. Oldman tends to be rather quiet with his private life (and who can blame him to be honest) so it's nice to see a different side of him. As well we get to see him improvise and work with the gear, time and money he's got. This video he was directing was low budget. And I mean low. But at no point during the documentary do you hear him complain about the lack of budget. Needs a crane shot? Pass Gary a pool skimmer. Steady cam? That's what duct tape and his chest are for.

Juliet and her crew did a great job of capturing these seldom scene moments. Take Flight itself is wonderfully shot and edited and it's use of classical music is rather well done.

Now what I felt was missing.

There are only one thing I would really change but in all fairness, this is completely a matter of taste, others will say differently and their argument would be just as valid.

For me, the one thing missing from Take Flight is an actual conversation with Gary. We see him from a far and while he's at work but no questions are really asked of him and nor do we hear why he's doing certain things. Like I said, the decision not to do direct interview or narration is a choice I can't fault, but as personal taste, I would have liked to know a little more.

As essentially a first film, Juliet's off to a good start. I can see a good amount of promise there in terms of her skills as a film maker and I'm very curious what she decides to follow this up with.

Oh wait, she already sort of has.

As part of promotion for Take Flight, Miss Landau went out and did a number of short interviews with a variety of creative people from all walks of life. She talks to voice directors, tattoo artists, actors, etc. And while they are just these six minute little interviews, I was really intrigued by them.

And it didn't hurt that she talked to David J, bass player for one of my favorite bands ever, Bauhaus.

I've always been intrigued by the creative process of different types of artists, in fact at one point, I strongly considered writing a book on the subject so these short interviews I find fascinating especially since she spoke to so many different people in different aspects of the arts.

Overall, I'm really looking forward to what Juliet cooks up next and if you're reading this Miss Landau, I am more then ready to make my screen debut. ;)

You can find Take Flight here

and the youtube promos here

I recommend giving both a look.

Mystery Asshole Theatre #5 - Hot Potato

March may be over, but there's a final hurrah for Blaxploitation History Month.

It didn't really fit our idiom to do the well-known "Black Belt Jones", so instead, we decided to put together a commentary track for its half-assed sequel, Hot Potato.

I could say a number of things about it, but I'm pretty sure we already did, so just go to the store, and rent a copy of Hot Potato, then sit back, and listen to the Two Assholes (plus Guestholes 2 and 3) make it all the more entertaining.

Download Mystery Asshole Theatre #5 - Hot Potato