Chloe Sevigny got a headstart on being a rebel. Her first film was the controversial Kids by Larry Clark. Since then she’s upped the controversial aspect of acting by being in films like Gummo and American Psycho, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Boys Dont Cry.
Now she’s in the new Woody Allen movie, Melinda and Melinda. The film is split up into two parts, the comedy and the tragedy. As usual, Sevigny appears in the tragedy portion as a woman who is disenchanted with her marriage and starts an affair with someone else’s boyfriend.
“Actors only work with me if they are between desirable jobs.”
– Woody Allen
I made Woody Allen laugh. Now how many people in this world can make that claim? No one I know goddamn it. It was so cool having him sit only a few feet away from me plus the new movie, Melinda and Melinda, is my favorite of his since Bullets Over Broadway. The film is split up into two parts, the comedy and the tragedy. It stars Radha Mitchell as Melinda, a woman who unrepentantly bursts into dinner parties and sends everyone into a tizzy.
“There must be four thousand songs better than that.”
– Chris Edwards
Our members from across the pond have already had a chance to form their opinions on Kasabian. The Leicester indie dance-rock quartet’s self-titled debut, released in the UK in September of 2004, won the band a top 10 album there and a handful of equally well-received singles with LSF, Processed Beats, Club Foot, and Cutt Off. Now the band, named after Manson-family getaway driver Linda Kasabian, are attempting to repeat that success in the States. Bassist Chris Edwards and I spoke on the morning of the first date of their American tour.
“It’s pretty rebellious to even try and do rock and roll at this age.”
– Billy Idol
Billy Idol isn’t unlike the Incredible Hulk in that he refers to himself in the third person. Of course when youre a cultural icon you can do that sort of thing. Idol helped millions of girls and boys bridge the gap between pre-puberty and puberty with his sexually charged concerts, music and music videos. Now he hopes to do that with a whole new generation of people with his latest album, Devil’s Playground.
“You have people pressed right up to the stage, and thats nice.”
– Gordon Moakes
London’s Bloc Party play danceable indie-rock with an unusual sense of urgency, like the band is striking up a merry tune on the deck of a sinking ship. They’ve been lumped in with others of the new so-called post-punk revival: Franz Ferdinand and all that, but Bloc Party have perhaps a bit too much fire to fit in comfortably with their chilly, artsy, deadpan brethren — so it’s perhaps no coincidence that bassist Gordon Moakes led off our recent conversation with a complaint about NYCs low temperatures…
[Above: “White Noise” from the album Good Morning, Magpie]
I was lucky enough to stumble across the music of Bloomington, Indiana’s Murder By Death almost 10 years ago and since then they’ve grown to be my absolute favorite band of all time. I’ve logged countless hours falling into their heavily visual and moody music. With every album comes new concepts and sounds. Spanning genres from post rock to alternative Americana with strong elements of story, Murder By Death possesses the ability to attract listeners from all ends of the musical spectrum.
After five full length albums, many EPs and splits, and even a soundtrack to sci-fi novel Finch by Jeff Vandermeer, Murder By Death has announced the release of Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon on September 25th via Bloodshot Records. Recorded and mixed by Grammy-nominated producer John Congleton (Explosions In The Sky, Modest Mouse, Amanda Palmer), this album is much-anticipated, and follows their 2010 release, Good Morning, Magpie.
The band are also one of the hardest working bands I’ve ever known. Logging over 1,200 shows in their touring career worldwide, and countless hours traveling, it’s never short of enthralling to see them play live. This summer, they are back on the road, playing not only songs from the new album, but celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their very first album, Like The Exorcist But More Breakdancing, which was released in the summer of 2002.
During their summer tour last year, I spoke with bassist Matt Armstrong about iabout doing an nterview for the site once they announce the new album. Matt has been a member of Suicide Girls since 2007, so he was excited to speak with me.
“Painting has the potential of expressing with a single gesture.”
– Luke Chueh
Luke Chueh studied graphic design and worked as a designer for many years, but he made his name as a painter. Chueh emerged from the Los Angeles art scene as one of the major painters of his generation and a major player in the contemporary lowbrow art movement. His use of simple characters and minimal color schemes may make what he does look easy, but his imagery and the emotions they evoke are incredibly complex. Few artists are able to make something look simple and cute at a distance, but upon closer inspection reveal itself to be a deeply disturbing scenario.
People may know him from the underground art show Cannibal Flower or Gallery 1988 where he’s been a major exhibitor. Chueh’s work has been transformed into vinyl figures and he created the album art for Fall Out Boy’s album Folie à Deux. Chueh also regularly posts his new work on his website lukechueh.com. His newest project is The Art of Luke Chueh, published by Titan Books in association with Gallery 1988. Chueh spoke with SG about his approach, the artwork he loves, and hints at a few possibilities for the future.
