SHELLAC interview, part 2: Bob Weston

Shellac's Bob Weston and cat. (courtesy of missionofburma.com)


In June, Shellac's Steve Albini was nice enough to talk to TM about their new album, Excellent Italian Greyhound, amongst other things. Bob Weston, the bassist in Shellac, as well as recording engineer for many an indie rock band, not to mention the tape manipulator for Boston legends Mission of Burma, was gracious enough to answer some more inane questions over e-mail.


In your own words, how would you describe Shellac's music?


Hard rock trio.

Has it been easier or harder to operate in the method that Shellac operates over the years? [no tours to promote records, no promotion, etc.]

Not touring and not doing promotion sounds pretty easy to me. How could that get harder?

In a musical climate where records are constantly being reissued/repackaged or bands release albums every two or three years, has the Shellac pace allowed for more creativity/freedom?

Well, we probably spend the same amount of time, or less, than most bands between albums. We simply spread our time working on it way out. If we practiced a few times a week like most bands, our recoords would come out every 6 months at the pace we work.
But we only get together for a weekend every few months. So it turns into years between records. So, it doesn't change our creativity or freedom. I guess we do have a lot more time to mull over ideas, but our time together being creative is pretty short.

Since Shellac's 1000 Hurts was released in 2000, George W. Bush and the neocons have ravaged our country. How do you feel about the current state of affairs in North America?

Eh, it's depressing, so I try not to think about it. Clearly the worst President and administration in recent history. I'm assuming (and hoping ) that it will be the worst I ever see. I couldn't bear worse. My wife wanted to move to Canada after the last election.

What are some records you've been excited about in the past few years?

Mclusky, Antelope, Medications, LCD Soundsystem (my current favorite), Swirlies (They Spent Their...), Evens, Bearclaw, Stnnng....

From a recording engineer's point of view, how hard has it been to remain in the analog domain now that everyone has gone digital?


All the rock records I make are still done on tape. It doesn't take any convincing. No band has asked me to use ProTools.

What are some bands/artists you'd like to work with or what are some records you wished you had worked on?


Fugazi.

If Shellac were an animal, what animal would he/she be?


Possum.

A number of songs on Excellent Italian Greyhound have appeared in your live sets over the years, the song "Spoke" dating back to a Peel Session in the mid 90s. How much have these songs been reworked when going into the studio? Is the songwriting process still pretty much a collaborative effort?

Nothing gets "reworked". But the songs definitely evolve over time. We play them all differently as time passes. The versions on record are simply the way we played it that day. Some don't change much. Some may change without us noticing. Some have very open sections that are meant to be different every time. [The song "Spoke"] is random gibberish, with the final word of course being "Spoke".

As witnessed at Shellac's shows, [drummer] Todd Trainer has proven himself a bona fide rock star and a sex symbol for our turbulent times. Has this created any clashing of egos within the band? Will Todd continue to contribute songs on Shellac LPs?

We all put the songs together, so Todd will of course be involved. But Todd has emerged as the true rock star in the band and that's great. It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of us.

The song "Kittypants" is about one of the cats dwelling at [Steve Albini's studio] Electrical Audio. Is Shellac an avid enthusiast of cat rock? Will this inspire a new genre of music?

Steve and I are fully cat people. Todd is an Italian Greyhound man, as you probably already had assumed.

Any last words?

Yellow light means you should slow down and stop, if you can safely. It does not mean speed up--it's about to turn red.

Also, please use your directional signals. It makes life so much easier for other drivers and cyclists.

Superbad

Superbad (directed by Greg Mottola)

Actor Seth Rogen (Freaks & Geeks, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) has had a pretty good summer, with Knocked Up being a surprise hit at the box office, and now Superbad, a script he started working on as a teenager with his friend Evan Goldberg.

Superbad makes the wise decision not to rely solely on gross-out humor, although there is undoubtedly a fair share of it. If the movie seems relatively anticlimactic in parts, it's because there is more focus on the way these kids talk, act, and think--too many teen comedies are blissfully unaware of the fact that adolescence is a painful and awkward time, and Seth (the biting and sarcastic Jonah Hill) is pissed off at pretty much everyone. His best friend, not surprisingly named Evan (Michael Cera), is more withdrawn and shy, but has the same objective as his friend: to score some beer, get the girl, and get laid. Or does he? Cera's character is an interesting one, because in a conventional script, he would be the token sidekick. In Superbad, he's the one that contemplates the silliness of it all.

The real comic relief is delivered by the uberdork wanksta Fogell (newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse), from here on known as McLovin. McLovin has a fake ID, you see, so he's summoned by Seth and Evan to get alcohol for the big end-of-year party being thrown by Jules (Emma Stone), whom Seth is intent on hooking up with.

Naturally, the alcohol plan goes awry, and McLovin is treated to an all-night "patrol" with two of the local goofball cops (Rogen and SNL's Bill Hader). Meanwhile, the friendship between Seth and Evan is put to the ultimate test, and that's where the film's true poignancy lies.

While Superbad isn't a great movie, I admired the respect Rogen and Goldberg had for these two main characters, and their contempt for standard plot devices and reliance on teen movie cliches. Instead, they find a way to make a joke out of menstrual blood.

Stardust

Stardust (directed by Matthew Vaughn)

Stardust is part fantasy, part romance, part adventure and all creative fun. If Stardust is to be seen for one reason alone, it would be for Robert De Niro's hilarious performance as Captain Shakespeare, a pirate with a bit of a soft side (that's all I'm gonna say about it).

Tristan (Charlie Cox) is trying to woo Victoria (Sienna Miller), and does so by promising to bring back a falling star. This star, played in human form by Yvaine (Claire Danes), is the object of obsession for a coven of witches, led by a decaying Michelle Pfeiffer. At the ripe old age of 400, Pfeiffer's character is intent on ripping out Danes' heart in order to gain eternal youth.

Director Matthew Vaughn, whose only previous directing credit was the well done 2004 British gangster film Layer Cake, has plenty of fun with the material, based on a story by Neil Gaiman, but it's the bold and inventive performances that carry the film through to the end.

You Follow Me

Nina Nastasia & Jim White- You Follow Me

From the opening song on You Follow Me, "I've Been Out Walking," which has Nastasia gasping for breath to narrate a story, it's immediately obvious that you're in the hands of a great songwriter. With this, Nastasia's fifth album, she's already established an impressive track record of high quality.

While I loved Dogs, The Blackened Air and liked Run to Ruin, part of the charm of Nastasia's last LP, On Leaving, and this album, is the space allowed for the songs to breathe. Her voice and guitar are captured perfectly, and Jim White's drums are loud/present, the only three instruments heard on the record. Of course I would expect no less from someone like Steve Albini, but recording-wise, these sparse, tight arrangements fit her aesthetic the best.

Jim White, similar to a free form jazz drummer (thought I really do hate most jazz) in that he doesn't follow the rhythm as much as create his own style to fit the mood of Nastasia's songs, is incredible on the album, as well as in his main band, The Dirty Three.

Seeing Nastasia live last year, I was struck by the power of the song "Late Night," which is included here, with just as much as passion as that performance. Also good are "Our Discussion," "How Will You Love Me" and the last track, "I Come After You." Nastasia's songs are direct, immediate and affecting--you couldn't really ask for more.

The Freed Man

Sebadoh- The Freed Man

Sebadoh's III is often cited as being their best record, but it's not as fun and demented as The Freed Man, which is basically two goofballs realizing the potential of samples and tape manipulation. The songs by Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney date as far back as '81 and end around the late 80s, around when the first "real" lineup of Barlow, Gaffney and Jason Loewenstein was formed. At 52 tracks, The Freed Man is a bit of a behemoth, but the songs are good, especially the throwaway pop of "Julienne," "Punch In The Nose," and "Moldy Bread." For post-adolescent yearning, heartbreak and disillusionment, you could really do a lot worse.

Bourne again

The Bourne Ultimatum (directed by Paul Greengrass)

The third installment in the Jason Bourne series is visceral, exciting, well-directed fun. Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, United 93) kicks the story off at a frenetic pace and doesn't let go. The camera work is at times a bit dizzying, but the action and fight sequences are so well done that it's warranted, and there are stunts aplenty, as opposed to the CGI saturation of most recent action films.

Jason Bourne (Damon) is starting to recall his true identity, and isn't that a bitch for the CIA dogs running the top secret Blackbriar mission. Weasely Noah Vosen (played with finesse by David Strathairn) and Pamela Lundy from the previous films (the superb Joan Allen) are trying to track Bourne's whereabouts, but just as they're about to nab him, Bourne throws them another catch-me-if-you can sucker punch, and it's off to another part of the world. London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Tangier: the Second Unit crews on this film require a bathroom break apiece.

The Bourne Ultimatum is in essence another late-summer blockbuster, but it's also one of the best action films in recent years.

Say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud

Talk To Me (directed by Kasi Lemmons)

Kasi Lemmons' film Talk To Me is inevitably about race, but more than anything, it's about keeping your integrity. There's a key scene towards the end of the film where Petey Greene (Don Cheadle) is offered a slot on The Tonight Show, and his long-suffering girlfriend Vernell (Taraji P. Henson) tells his manager and best friend Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) that something isn't right. Sure enough, Greene blows his chance at megastardom, and Hughes is left wondering why he would give it all up. Truth be told, Greene never really wanted to be a celebrity--he just wanted to "tell it like it is."

Based on the true story of ex-con-turned-radio-personality Petey Greene, who literally stole himself a spot on Washington D.C.'s WOL radio station, Talk To Me takes a fairly conventional biopic approach, but is nonetheless anchored by Cheadle and Ejiofor's great performances.

Greene is the ultimate anarchist, saying things over the airwaves that no one dared to utter during the tumultuous 60s, and acting off of his own convictions, posing the ultimate threat to "the man," who is initally represented as the WOL station boss (Martin Sheen). While there's been a lot of reference to Greene being the precursor to shock jocks like Howard Stern and the like, Greene's mission was more for social change than to simply stir up controversy.

While Talk To Me at times seems a bit too convenient and feels like we've seen it before, it's the friendship between Greene and Hughes that keeps it going, and it's a story that ultimately needed to be told.

Rescue Dawn

Rescue Dawn (directed by Werner Herzog)

There are great directors, and then there are directors like Werner Herzog, who so embodies the essence of filmmaking that watching one of his movies is more of a life-affirming experience than entertainment. With "Rescue Dawn," he manages to do both.

Christian Bale plays Dieter Dengler, a German-born pilot in the U.S. Navy who simply just wants to fly. Herzog directed a documentary featuring the real Dengler a decade ago, Little Dieter Needs To Fly, and in Dawn, Herzog is able to give his story a full-fledged treatment.

Rescue Dawn is Herzog's first foray into the mainstream, although he also achieved considerable success with 2005's excellent documentary Grizzly Man. It's nice to think that a director as radical as Herzog could break into the system, but his films have always been deeply personal journeys into the inner workings of the human soul--pretty much poison for Hollywood.

Dawn opens with Dengler flying on a mission during Vietnam, when his plane is shot down over Laos, is taken prisoner, and soon finds himself in a seemingly inescapable predicament with two other Americans (Steve Zahn and the annoying Jeremy Davies) and others that were shot down on an Air America mission.

Dengler comes up with a plot to escape, but once he and his cohort Duane (Zahn) make it into the jungle, they realize that their survival is just as compromised. Bale and Zahn are excellent in their respective roles, with Bale proving to be one of the best young actors currently working. Bale has chosen a plethora of challenging/interesting characters since 1998's Velvet Goldmine, ranging from Patrick Bateman to Batman, but as Dengler, it's his best fit yet.

Hairspray (2007)

Hairspray (directed by Adam Shankman)

I've been secretly rooting for John Travolta to get out of the horrible funk he got in after his great turns in Pulp Fiction and as Chili Palmer in 1995's Get Shorty. Although I'm not quite sure what Travolta was trying to achieve with his accent as Edna Turnblad in the new film version of Hairspray, it's safe to say that he's quite brilliant in it, as is Christopher Walken as his husband, Wilbur. Their dance scene together is sure to win audiences over, and it makes you wish that Walken, originally a Juilliard-educated song and dance man, would get more screen time.

Hairspray by all means shouldn't work. It's a remake of the 1988 John Waters film, which was in turn made into a Broadway musical a few years ago. Director Shankman has taken the soul of the original Waters film and put entirely new songs in it, all originally from the musical version, composed by Marc Shaiman. The songs are instantly ingratiating--it's hard not to get caught up in the film's effortless charm and catchiness.

Newcomer Nikki Blonsky plays Edna Turnblad, who along with her lollypop-sucking friend, Penny (Amanda Bynes) wants no more than to get on the Corny Collins show. Michelle Pfeiffer, in full comeback mode this year, plays the evil Velma Von Tussle, whose daughter Amber (Brittany Snow) has every intention of destroying Tracy's dream.

The casting is excellent, with Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle (played by the legendary Ruth Brown in the original film), Allison Janney as Penny's God-fearing mother, not to mention Blonksy, who is wonderful in the lead role.

If anything, Shankman and co. have improved upon the original, although I miss Divine and it's too bad they didn't have room for "the Bug" or "the Cockroach."

Best of TV on DVD

The Sopranos- Season 6, Part 1

The Sopranos Season 6, Part 2, the conclusion of the series, won't be released on DVD until the Fall, so what better time to recap one of the best shows on TV? A lot of Soprano-heads have bitched about this season, mostly because it's more character-driven and less intense--people aren't getting whacked left and right, etc etc. I guess it's ample evidence that the show is split into two types of viewers: those that like the constant stream of tension/action, and those who appreciate the subtleties, dialogue and character nuances.

The first part of Season 6 deals with Tony's struggle to recover from his coma after being shot by Uncle Junior, giving us the best episode of the season, "Members Only," with Tony stuck in a sort of purgatory as Kevin Finnerty. Meanwhile, Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) is in prison, meaning that Phil Leotardo (the menacing Frank Vincent) is handling all of the family business in his absence. Christopher (Michael Imperioli) is eager to kick off his awful horror movie, Cleaver, which is described as "Saw meets The Godfather: Part II." Vito (Joseph Gannascoli) has dreams about taking Tony's place should he not make it out of his coma, which is quickly dismissed once his homosexuality is revealed, prompting him to move to New Hampshire. Poor Vito tries to reconcile, but Phil Leotardo sees it as a "f****** disgrace" and takes matters into his own hands.

There's a bit of a lag in Part 1, but taken as a whole, it's just as satisfying as any of other seasons.




Big Love- Season 1

Bill Paxton must've had it written somewhere in his contract that he has to show his ass at least once in every episode of the HBO series Big Love. With three houses, three wives, and a business just getting its legs, Bill Henrickson (Paxton) has got a lot on his plate. It doesn't help that the snaky Roman Grant (a superb Harry Dean Stanton), the father of Bill's wife Nicki (the conniving Chloe Sevigny) is trying to complicate matters even more by demanding a cut on the second Henrickson's Home Plus store. Polygamy isn't an easy subject to tackle, but it's done with considerable panache, and although the "perks" of plural marriage are well documented, it also examines the ugly heart of Mormonism.



Extras- Seasons 1 & 2

HBO is setting a new standard for quality shows, what with the success of The Sopranos, and other respected shows like The Wire, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Band of Brothers, Oz, Carnivale, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Da Ali G Show. Well, I guess it has to. Prime time isn't gonna do it. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's new show, Extras, is a welcome addition to that growing list. Gervais and Merchant had a lot to live up to with the massive success of the BBC show The Office, spawning an (arguably) inferior U.S. version, but they're more than up to the challenge, poking a bit of fun at themselves and recruiting an impressive list of celebrities to do the same.

Season 1 gets off to a bit of an awkward start, with Andy Millman (Gervais) and sidekick Maggie (Ashley Jensen) wallowing in thankless extra roles in big-budget Hollywood films. Millman's intent on moving past the extra world is hindered by his inept agent (Stephen Merchant), who is only able to get him the most menial work possible. The episodes with Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet emerge as the clear winners, with plenty of uncomfortable comedy and embarassing moments to spare. Gervais and Merchant have no shame or boundaries to their comedy, which results in some hilarious scenes that are painful to watch, just like many in The Office.

Season 2 is the better of the two. The main difference this time is that Millman has his shitcom "When The Whistle Blows" picked up by the BBC, and much to Millman's chagrin, it is not what he'd envisioned, despite growing popularity as a "catchphrase-based comedy." The episode with David Bowie is destined to become a classic, with the former Aladdin Sane performing an impromptu song on the piano about Millman that starts out with the line "chubby little loser..." and turns into a free-for-all sing-a-long ridiculing him.

The following episode with Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter) is just as good. Radcliffe plays a Potter-like boy scout in a fairy tale movie, and a wood elf (Warwick Davis) has his flute restored by the "magical kid with glasses." I was in stitches.

Ian McKellen shows up in an episode, telling Millman of his ingenious method of acting. Millman and Jonathan Ross share a homoerotic moment in another key episode, with a surprise appearance by Robert De Niro. Now that the rest of the world has taken notice, it seems that Gervais and Merchant's options for comedy are pretty much limitless.



Not Just The Best Of The Larry Sanders Show

There would be no Ricky Gervais without The Larry Sanders Show, so it's appropriate that this was finally released on DVD. Garry Shandling was approached about the possibility of filling a late night talk show slot, but instead he created this groundbreaking show-within-a-show that acted as an allegorical dagger through the heart of showbusiness and the trappings of fame and ego. Rip Torn is so hilarious that he could've quite possibly carried the show on his own. It also the marked the beginning of Janeane Garofalo's career, as well as writer-director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up), who wrote a number of the show's episodes, and X-filer David Duchovny. Plenty of great extras, with Shandling interviewing old stars of the show and offering insight into the show's creation.



Twin Peaks- The Second Season

David Lynch and co. are planning a deluxe Definitive 10-disc Gold Box Edition of Twin Peaks to come out at the end of October, complete with the show's original pilot (both U.S. and European theatrical version), all of the episodes, as well as a bonus disc with special features. Normally, I cringe at this sort of excess, but in Twin Peaks' case, it's entirely necessary and long overdue--Season 1 is already out of print, and Season 2 was released just this April, after a nearly 6-year wait.

What else can be said of Twin Peaks other than it's one of the greatest shows ever to make it on to network television? I have no hesitation in thinking that there's no way in hell that ABC would ever air something this radical now, and it's still completely surprising that it lasted as long as it did back in the salad days of the early 90s.

Kyle MacLachlan totally immerses himself in the role of Agent Dale Cooper, a guy who enjoys the simple pleasures in life, those primarily being a good steaming hot cup of coffee and an irresistible piece of cherry pie. MacLachlan and Lynch created one of the most likeable and bizarre of all characters, one who immediately engages you and makes you laugh at the absurdity of his process.

Season 1 was great and laid the basic groundwork for what was to come. With Season 2, we finally get to see the duality of Bob/Leland Palmer in an episode so frightening that it's a wonder that it ever aired.

There's a lot to like about Season 2, especially the episodes that Mark Frost and/or David Lynch were actively involved in. Forensics expert Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) returns for more sarcasm, and Cooper's boss Gordon Cole (David Lynch) makes a few brief appearances, at one point comparing Cooper to "a small Mexican chi-wow-wow."

Season 2 loses focus about halfway through, and the neverending chess game between Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh) and Cooper gets tiring, as does the random/unnecessary romance between Nadine (Wendy Robie) and Mike (Gary Hershberger), the ongoing soap opera between Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) and James (James Marshall), and a British fellow (Ian Buchanan) involved with Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) who may or may not be the father of her child, which causes Deputy Andy (Harry Goaz) to become jealous.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The finale caused a lot of frustration with fans, but my interpretation of it is that Cooper seemed to be the only pure, "good," untainted character on the show- maybe Lynch's intention was to show that evil can inhabit even the purest of souls, who knows. Evil is very allegorical in the show, being represented by Bob/the owl, Leo (Eric Da Re) and others. Lynch likes to deal with the duality of man and the dark side to human nature a lot in his films--as a Lynch fan, it's not surprising to see the way he handled it in the show. Mostly I think he wanted audiences to think the show was going to end on a conventional note and then proceeded to throw scalding hot coffee in our collective faces. Lynch had no intention of even revealing who Laura's killer was--he acquiesced only after network pressure made it necessary.

If you still haven't been welcomed to the wonderful, strange world of Twin Peaks, now would be a good time to start.