April 1

Another week, another hearty bounty of new entertainment choices - including the anticipated home video release of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Though many seemed to feel Johnny Depp was robbed of a Best Actor Oscar, it's difficult to believe anyone other than Daniel Day-Lewis should have hefted the golden statue last month.

Still, Sweeney Todd is a fast-paced, fun horror-musical with all the Burton-esque earmarks we've come to expect. As might be expected, there is the gloriously gloomy, yet oddly beautiful, cinematography and the characterizations are all nothing short of bizarre. Naturally, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Also of notable release is absolutely ridiculous children's film Alvin and the Chipmunks. While I would enjoy tearing apart the film and pointing out why this sort of tripe is hardly helpful to the developmental growth of our youth, such ruminations would fall on deaf ears. Considering the film broke the two hundred million mark, it's safe to suggest that Americans simply wish to give their children what they want.

Here at Hurry Home Dark Cloud, two new under-the-radar releases we recommend are The Good Night and Fiorile. The Good Night revolves around a former pop star who now composes commercial jingles for a living. Naturally, a mid-life crisis is inevitable. Fiorile, actually released in 1993, is a warm Italian film about a unique family curse.

Films released for the first time on high-definition Blu-Ray discs are Unbreakable, Coyote Ugly, and Hidalgo.

Musically, the new releases are even more diverse this week. First of all, R.E.M. offers their first new record since 2004 with Accelerate. Sun Kil Moon officially releases April, their first record of original material since 2003. Electronica maven Moby released his ninth album and Van Morrison trumps Moby with his thirty-third studio album.

Hard rock and heavy metal fans will surely pounce on new ones from Sevendust, Theory of a Deadman, In Flames, and The Sword. For country fans, both Josh Gracin and George Strait are presenting new albums, as well as brilliant country-tinged musician Jackie Greene.

Alternative-country singer Matthew Ryan, who has a song featured on the latest Paste Magazine disc, releases his new one today. The blues-rock of The Black Keys gels into another solid new album, in addition to a rarities release from seasoned singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock. Finally, instrumental indie outfit Unwed Sailor and rock band Foals both have new ones. The official U.S. release for Foals is April 8, but impatient fans can opt for the import release today.

Theatrical new releases this week, beginning April 4, are: Leatherheads, Nim's Island, and The Ruins.

Leatherheads is a screwball/comedy/football film set in the mid-twenties, Nim's Island has been described as an "Indiana Jones film for girls", and The Ruins is a by-the-numbers horror flick (is there any other kind?)

Celluloid

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

The Good Night (2007)

Fiorile (1993)

Unbreakable (2000) [Blu-Ray]

Coyote Ugly (2000) [Blu-Ray]

Hidalgo (2004) [Blu-Ray]

Music

R.E.M. "Sing for the Submarine" from Accelerate (2008)

Sun Kil Moon "Moorestown" from April (2008)

Moby "Alice" from Last Night (2008)

Van Morrison Keep It Simple (2008)

Sevendust Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow (2008)

Theory of a Deadman Scars and Souvenirs (2008)

In Flames Sense of Purpose (2008)

The Sword "Fire Lances" from Gods of the Earth (2008)

Josh Gracin We Weren't Crazy (2008)

George Strait Troubadour (2008)

Jackie Greene Giving Up the Ghost (2008)

Matthew Ryan Matthew Ryan Vs. Silver State (2008)

The Black Keys Attack & Release (2008)

Robyn Hitchcock Shadow Cat (2008)

Unwed Sailor Little Wars (2008)

Foals "Cassius" from Antidotes (2008) [Import]

Treasure!

I've always been a fan of shipwrecks, pirates, lost treasure, early exploration, and the history of Earth in general. There are times when I find myself purchasing obscure documents and historical periodicals in the hope of finding something curiously unique.

Typically the most interesting articles are found in thick history tomes or defunct magazines such as Great Battles and Lost Fortunes. Imagine my surprise, then, to find a "Lost Treasures" article in an issue of childrens magazine Disney Adventures dated January of 1994.

The magazine quizzed three top treasure aficionados on what shipwreck would be the most valuable if found. These people included Marco Meniketti, the project director of San Agustin Institute of Marine Technology; Denise Lakey, marine archaeologist; and Jim Lima, marine historian.

The following text is taken straight from the article:

La Gallega - Sank in a Panama River, 1503.
The Treasure - a priceless Christopher Columbus ship.
Columbus was on his fourth and final trip to the Americas when he sailed up a Central American river he called Rio Belen for rest and to resupply. He and his men were attacked on shore by natives; Columbus and his crew made it to another ship but had to leave La Gallega behind. Shipwreck hunters simply can not find this wreck.

Las Cinque Chagas - Sank in the North Atlantic off the coast of the Azores, 1594.
The Treasure - 1,000 tons of spices, silk, gold, and jewels worth $500 million.
Las Cinque Chagas, one of the richest Portuguese treasure ships, was returning from India when she was attacked by English warships; only 13 people out of 1,000 survived. They were spared from execution by flashing jewels at the English sailors in return for rescue. Why hasn't anyone found the ship? No one knows where she went down.

San Jose - Sank off the Columbia coast, 1708.
The Treasure - Gold coins worth about $30 million.
This is the Big One: the richest Spanish galleon ever lost in the Western Hemisphere. The San Jose was bound for Spain from South American. She was nearing Isla del Tesoro ("treasure island") off the coast of Columbia when she was attacked and blown up by English warships. She's 2,000 feet below the ocean, too far down to get to - even if anyone knew where to look.

Grosvenor - Sank off the coast of South Africa, 1782.
The Treasure - Gold bars, gold coins, 19 chests full of jewels, and a jewel-encrusted gold throne called the "Peacock Throne of India" worth $10 million.
You'd think a 729-ton ship would be hard to wreck, but the captain did just that: he got lost, took a wrong turn, and ran the Grosvenor up a reef. The shark-infested waters - the world's most dangerous - keep treasure hunters away.

Yankee Blade - Sank off Point Arguello, California, 1854.
The Treasure - Gold Rush booty.
During the California Gold Rush, the Yankee Blade ferried food, supplies, and gold miners up and down the West Coast. On one trip, she drifted into a fog and hit a reef. Water rushed in from a 30-foot gash in her bottom, and she sank two days later. All the ship's gold is said to lie in a rusty steel vault that went down with her. Today, heavy currents and year-round bad weather keep the treasure hunters away.


I hope to eventually confirm the veracity of these accounts, and discover if any of these vessels have been at least partially located in the fourteen years since this article was published.

We shall see!

John C. Reilly "My Son John" from Rogue's Gallery (2006)

Bryan Ferry "The Cruel Ship's Captain" from Rogue's Gallery (2006)

Acid House Kings

Swedish indie pop group Acid House Kings, by the year 2002, already had two albums under their collective belt. But it wasn't until third album Mondays Are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays that the band honed their distinctive twee style into a cohesive mixture of delirious hand claps, sunny guitar melodies, and late night fireside lyrics.

You probably wouldn't guess that from their moniker, which admittedly recalls some obscure stoned seventies garage rock group rather than a cheery European twee band.

Though founding member Niklas Andergard provides much of the vocals, some of the best tracks are helmed by relative newcomer Julia Lannerheim. Lannerheim's assuaging voice trickles along the melody of the song like creekwater, lending an already soothing track an airy springtime feel.

"Say Yes If You Love Me" is rife with lyrics that would typically induce eye-rolling in the hands of another artist, which makes covering the work of Acid House Kings a tricky business at best. Within their artful hands, however, the track instead induces a knowing smile. It's a song that should be pegged as a one-off soundtrack single for a children's film, but it is so blissfully pleasant adults will keep it for their own.

Sing Along with Acid House Kings displays an even more dramatic creative growth for the band. Nearly every track is a standout, and as a bonus the album comes packaged with one of the most uniquely tailored companion dvds in recent memory.

Continuing the "sing along" theme the title suggests, the dvd features the band performing mundane tasks such as reading the newspaper and making coffee while a karaoke-style lyric banner assists the viewer with the sing along. Also included are a couple of promotional music videos.

With the consistently lengthy period between albums and many of its members extending themselves into outside projects, such as the excellent Club 8, it's unlikely we will hear from Acid House Kings until somewhere deep into 2008. The last post on their website, dated eight months ago, suggests just that.

Until then, we will wait anxiously. . .

"Say Yes If You Love Me" from Mondays Are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays (2002)

"London School of Economics" from Sing Along With Acid House Kings (2005)

BONUS MP3

Club 8 "Jesus, Walk With Me" from The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming (2007)

HHDC Mix #1

"He who sings scares away his woes." - Cervantes

David Gray "One With The Birds" from A Thousand Miles Behind (2007)

"When we are inhuman, we're one with the birds. When we hide our feelings, we may as well fly away."

"One With The Birds", a sublime piano-driven ballad, is absolutely one of the most beautiful songs in the Oldham canon, and this version is superbly handled by Gray. It is a rare artist that can strike all the intended nuances inherent within a song written by another, yet Gray displays true finesse for crafting a cover with profound respect to the original work.

In many ways it is akin to finishing a book written by another, which in my experience is generally disastrous. Anyone read Spider Robinson's horrid take on Robert A. Heinlein's unfinished novel Variable Star?

But I digress.

The cover album "One With The Birds" is taken from features quite a few curious choices, including Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" and no less than three Bob Dylan tracks. It is available exclusively from Gray's official website, yet it is not quite worth the staggeringly high amount of money demanded. That's no less than twenty-six dollars for the cd and eighteen to twenty-two for the digital download. Way to give back to your fans, Mr. Gray.

Ben Lee "We're All In This Together" from Awake Is The New Sleep (2005)

"Ask a scientist, it's quantum physics, we're all in this together."

"We're All In This Together" is a pop song in the grandest fashion. The deceptively simplistic lyrics give rise to uninhibited sing-alongs, and the bouncing beat of the melody harkens back to a time when the music was a bit sunnier, in addition to being hopelessly catchy.

These days, pop musicians are created in a labratory by the record label. The artist is propped up and airbrushed to picture perfection. It's all light and mirrors. Pop artists with blazing originality are becoming increasingly scant, and Ben Lee is one of the last remaining standouts in this field. As a side note, this track was recently used in a Kohl's Advertisement.

The Avett Brothers "Die Die Die" from Emotionalism (2007)

"You can try to swim the sea, but say goodbye to you and me."

At first listen "Die Die Die" recalls Pernice Brothers, specifically compared with "Amazing Glow" from Live a Little. Partly because of the tight acoustic instrumentation, but mostly because of the beautifully harmonizing vocals.

At second listen, all the glorious subtleties surface and with them comes the gift of a truly charming song. Aside from that, these guys can sing.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever" so said Keats. Songs like "Die Die Die" serve to prove that declaration.

Arctic Monkeys "Flourescent Adolescent" from Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

"You used to get it in your fishnets, now you only get it in your night dress."

The video clip for this one is gloriously camp, with its entertaining yet uninspired battle betwixt men and clowns. Somehow, the band is even able to interject a bit of true emotion in such a cornball scenario.

Brief flashbacks are seen in which one of the men and one of the clowns are both children, gleefully playing together. Later during the battle, when the clown has the man pinned, he implores "How did it come to this?" Tragic, isn't it?

Raveonettes "Aly, Walk With Me" from Lust Lust Lust (2008)

"Aly, walk with me in my dreams, all through the night."

Hooray for distorted guitar reverb and high volume feedback! Thanks Mr. Lou Reed, really, I mean it. If you had not fashioned an album of utter ear-shattering noise, where would songs like this be today?

The Raveonettes have taken the Velvet Underground playbook and run with it, though it would be a severe discredit to unload their creativity wholly at the altar of Reed. There are shades of eighties new wave in the mix as well, not to mention the stunningly excellent balance between melody and misrule.

March 25

It's Tuesday, and time for another new release report!

This week the term "new release" is a bit relative, as the majority of new film releases are reissues, but there are a couple of anticipated albums that are in stores now.

The classic 1967 gangster film Bonnie & Clyde, previously only available on a bare bones single disc, has been re-released in a typically extravagant Warner Brothers two disc special edition set. Also getting the deluxe re-release treatment is Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.

After languishing in relative obscurity for years, one of the definitive films of David Lynch's career, Lost Highway, is at last receiving a proper dvd release. An unquestionably bizarre murder mystery film, it has inevitably become something of a cult classic. Fans will be especially interested to know that the dvd will ship with an in-depth director interview.

Also seeing release today is mediocre horror film The Mist, Sundance favorite Wristcutters: A Love Story, and weepy drama The Kite Runner.

Counting Crows have a new album dropping today, and if the pre-release cut of "Cowboys" is any indication, it will be the hardest rocking Counting Crows record since Recovering the Satellites. Remember "Angels of the Silences" anyone? Rounding out the list this week are punk-turned-pop fashionistas Panic at the Disco and indie newcomers Plants and Animals.

Celluloid

Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

Walk the Line (2005)

Lost Highway (1997)

The Mist (2007)

Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

The Kite Runner (2007)

Music

Counting Crows "Cowboys" from Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings (2008)

Panic at the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" from Pretty Odd (2008)

Plants and Animals "Feedback in the Field" from Park Avenue (2008)

Sun Kil Moon: April

Recording under Red House Painters since the early nineties, Mark Kozelek has fashioned a career out of reinventing the once tired singer/songwriter genre into a veritable melange of genre-bending conventions.

The latest offering from Kozelek, now working under the title of Sun Kil Moon, will hit stores the first of April. Those who pre-ordered the album, however, received the album sometime last week.

The first two thousand and eight copies were hand signed by the man himself and included a four track bonus disc of alternate cuts from the album, including: "Tonight In Bilbao", "The Light", "Like The River", and "Tonight The Sky."

Longtime fans will knowingly smile at the play length: approximately seventy-five minutes spread over eleven tracks. As rumored, providing supporting vocals are Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard and Will Oldham (also known as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy).

Stylistically, whether recording under Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters, or just simply Mark Kozelek - the end result is always the same. Brilliantly evocative, impassioned instrumentation is set to Kozelek's wry, penetrative lyrics. The sound has become something of a trademark, so much so that Kozelek's music has been recognized even during an unheard, instrumental cut.

This consistency makes April an easy decision. Anyone who has enjoyed an album of Kozelek's is practically guaranteed to adore the latest. It is perfect music for spring, for April, for anyone with a heart - broken or otherwise.

Sun Kil Moon "Moorestown" from April (2008)

The Public Enemy

From left: James Cagney (Tom Powers), Jean Harlow (Gwen Allen), Edward Woods (Matt Doyle), and Joan Blondell (Mamie).

Tom Powers. Today, the gangster archetype is typified on a scale of comparison to performances by either Robert De Niro or Al Pacino. Whether set up against the white hot adrenaline of Pacino, or built up around the brooding intensity of De Niro, modern gangster films have become a classic staple of American cinema second only to the western.

Scorcese and Coppola merit the bulk of the credit for their masterful weavings of, respectively, the Goodfellas and Godfather sagas. Yet a string of directors have helmed such recent cult gangster films as Miller's Crossing, King of New York, Carlito's Way, Donnie Brasco, Romeo is Bleeding, Hoodlum, Mobsters, and Road to Perdition.

But prior to all of this, there was Tom Powers. The protagonist of The Public Enemy was an ambitious, cunningly intelligent, borderline misanthropic mobster. It was a role no different from the gangsters in other pre-code era films, such as Scarface or Little Caesar, except for one aspect - James Cagney.

Cagney's energetic performance in The Public Enemy decisively established his career and gave birth to scores of mob-related films, many including Cagney. Tight scripting and top gear acting (with a few exceptions, Jean Harlow is a significant low point in that department) ensure a never dull picture, and the cinematography is astonishingly picturesque at times.

Watch the montage of city life at the beginning and marvel at the rather long tracking shot that introduces the two main characters as children. Another early scene involves Powers, as a teenager, getting himself into trouble with his strict, diciplinarian father. The father slowly walks to the kitchen to retrieve his lash as his mother looks on sympathetically.

The camera remains stationary as the father, ever so slowly, strides into Powers room to punish him. The scene is shot with such delicate care in regards to the subject matter that it is every bit the equal to modern portrayals of castigation.

The attention to detail, curiously adept for such an early film, is breathtaking. A later scene has a camera hidden in the ground so that a gangster's car drives over it ominously. When a police officer is killed during Powers first big heist, the film depicts his death by displaying a hand clutching a revolver - smoke still subtly trailing from the barrel.

I could expound on the amount of deftly shot scenes endlessly. Perhaps most notably, the infamous grapefruit scene became so iconic that it's still parodied to this day.

And the chilling climax, in which Powers seeks revenge for the death of his best friend, remains one of the preeminent symbols of early pre-code cinematic violence.

His gang weakened by the accidental death of its primary enforcer, Powers finds himself outgunned and essentially aloof. Paddy, the gang's leader, strives to protect what's left of his outfit by sequestering them in an apartment, replete with a mistress to take care of them.

After barely a day, Powers grows restless (and incensed at the mistress who seduced him in a drunken state) and storms out. Matt Doyle, ever Powers intrepid companion, accompanies him.

Not surprisingly, rival gang members are lying in wait and immediately open fire as they depart. Doyle is struck and nearly instantly killed, while Powers is able to seek cover around a corner. Beside himself with fury, Powers plots a devious retribution.

Alone in the rain he stands silently, watching the rival gang's automobiles arrive at a popular hangout for the gang. One by one they scurry inside as Powers glares at them. Though an malicious grin escapes his lips, it's clearly evident his rage is rapidly reaching a boiling point. That's when Powers shoves both hands in his coat pockets and marches inside the building.

From here, the only thing the audience witnesses is the anterior of the building. No score is played, only the unnerving sound of gunfire and a few grisly screams. We do not see the firefight and we do not see men fall to the ground clutching their abdominals. Powers emerges a minute later, noticably wounded, and tosses both his pistols through the windows of the building.

Powers staggers down the street a bit before collapsing in the gutter, torrential rain descending around him, only managing a weak "I ain't so tough" before losing consciousness. The screen fades to black, and only then is the tension dissolved.

What makes this series of events so remarkable is that no actual violence is seen. The entire episode takes place within the recesses of your own mind, and that can often be more terrifying that any cinematic sequence could ever be.

It's brilliantly executed and boldly shot with such a detached sense of realism that you feel as if you're standing right there on the corner next to Powers. . .and still there as he commits murder.

The Public Enemy, in the humble opinion of Hurry Home Dark Cloud, is the purest exemplification of the gangster film. In the years since its release, all others have served as naught but pallid facsimiles.