August 2008

Scenes from the mall

Here's my account of today's Liberty Parade on Nicollet Mall over at the Minnesota Independent (mnindy.com). I'll be linking my RNC coverage for various publications here this week, while posting exclusive photos like the one below.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 31, 2008 8:52 PM | Comments (0)

Byrne & Eno: Filling in the blanks

On 20th listen, I now think the title track of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is a prayer for Iraq. Which needs one, regardless of who's elected.

It was a pleasure preparing and writing my first-ever review in the Village Voice, of the new collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno. It's their first album since 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (depending on how you count Talking Heads' Remain in Light from '80 or Byrne's soundtrack The Catherine Wheel from '81, both of which feature Eno and were recorded later).

I hadn't listened to Byrne's The Knee Plays for years and found I really loved it, especially as a soundtrack for my evening suburban driver shifts for Jimmy John's, and I'd never given my Nonesuch promo of Grown Backwards a chance--surprisingly good, especially the duet with Rufus Wainwright. The Talking Heads re-releases from a couple years ago are, I hope, old news to readers of this blog, but are essential up through Little Creatures, while the also-reissued and essential Bush of Ghosts is one of those classics that my friends either love or hate. I find it pure loveliness--it's at least funky enough that my four-year-old nephew asks for "Eno" in our car.

But the real revelation was Eno's earlier solo classics, or at least the two I could afford to pick up: 1973's Here Come the Warm Jets and especially 1975's Another Green World truly open up a new world. The latter is fast becoming one of my favorite albums ever, though it's so out of focus I can barely figure out why. The former kicks off with a song I recognize, and had always assumed was some late-'80s indie rock. Elsewhere on Jets there's a track that became sample fodder for the Atmosphere/El-P track "Homecoming" (hidden at the end of Lucy Ford).

I'd find the track, but I just realized the disc is in my broken-down car at a park near Medicine Lake--the Camry died right before my last delivery the other night, thus ending my suburban summer. Next week, after some RNC-related work and other freelancing, it's back to teaching and back to the hip-hop book (it's coming along, I swear).

Here's the thread at ILX.

Matos's preview, Will's review.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 28, 2008 8:34 PM | Comments (0)

RNC protest planner (with music)

From Hagar to the Coup, here's a daily calendar of Republican National Convention-related parties, protests, and concerts in the Twin Cities between now and Thursday, September 4. I'll keep updating, but since this is partly a guide for my own plans, it's necessarily selective. Visit Arise! Bookstore, Elephants in the Room (the City Pages RNC blog), ProtestRNC2008.org, the RNC Welcoming Committee, MinnPost, the Minnesota Independent, the Rake's RNC guide, and ProtestRNC2008 Myspace for more. I'll get Joseph to tape Daily Show broadcasts from the History Theatre on TV like most people.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27

Thomas Frank discusses The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule. 7:30 p.m., free. Barnes & Noble, 3225 W 69th St., Edina, 952.920.0633.

Eight Is Enough: The Concert to End Our Long, National Nightmare, with Low, Dosh, P.O.S., Skoal Kodiak, STNNNG, and more. Turf Club, 1601 University Ave. W, St. Paul, 651.647.0486. 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are sold out, but some are still available at the door.

Gnarls Barkley, 7:30 p.m., $31. Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, 1265 Snelling Ave. N, St. Paul, 651.642.2262.

Activist training for the 9/4 student strike with Ruckus Society leading the workshop, 5:00 p.m., Bedlam Theater, 1501 S 6th St, Mpls. Followed by puppet-making until 9:00.

Father Roy Bourgeois, Founder of SOAWatch speaks at 7:30 p.m. at St. Stephen's Church Basement, 2211 Clinton Ave, Mpls. Call 612.529.3551 for more info.

Annual national Veterans for Peace convention, "Peace, Liberty and Justice for All," at the Mall of America Ramada (formerly the Thunderbird), Bloomington, MN. $200 full program registration. Jim Steinhagen at 612-722-1112.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28

Thomas Frank: The author discusses The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule. 7:30 p.m., free. First Universalist Church, 3400 Dupont Ave. S, Minneapolis, 612.825.1701.

Annual national Veterans for Peace convention, "Peace, Liberty and Justice for All," at the Mall of America Ramada (formerly the Thunderbird), Bloomington, MN. $200 full program registration. Jim Steinhagen at 612-722-1112.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29

(Not necessarily political, just fun.) The Root of All Evil Memorial Metal Massacre (a tribute to the late, great Earl Root): With Impaler, Missing Man Formation, Aesma Daeva, Cold Colours, Demonicon. All ages, 18+ after 9:30 pm, 4:30 p.m., $10/$12. First Avenue, 701 1st Ave. N, Minneapolis, 612.332.1775.

Former U.N. Weapons Inspector, Scott Ritter: The Iran Talks. Ritter discusses the "War on Terror" and Iran. Suggested donation: $10.00 (no one turned away). 7:30 p.m. Veterans for Peace Convention, Ramada Mall of America, 2300 East American Boulevard, Bloomington._Co-sponsored by: Veterans for Peace and U.S. Tour of Duty._Info: Call Minnesota Veterans for Peace, 612.821.9141.

Cecil Otter of Doomtree Release Party 21+, 9:00 PM | $9.00. Triple Rock Social Club

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30

The God Damn Doo Wop Band, Failures Union, $6. 7th St. Entry: 701 1st Ave. N, Minneapolis, 612.332.1775. 9:00 p.m.

Former U.N. Weapons Inspector, Scott Ritter: The Iran Talks. Ritter discusses the "War on Terror" and Iran. Suggested donation: $10.00 (no one turned away). 3:00 p.m. William Mitchell College of Law, Auditorium, 875 Summit Avenue, St. Paul._Co-sponsored by: the WAMM Middle East Committee, National Lawyers Guild - MN and U.S. Tour of Duty.

Annual national Veterans for Peace convention, "Peace,
Liberty and Justice for All," at the Mall of America Ramada (formerly the Thunderbird), Bloomington, MN. $200 full program registration. Jim Steinhagen at 612-722-1112.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31

Veterans Memorial March to the RNC, 10:00 a.m._Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, St. Paul. Solemn antiwar march.

Liberty Parade and Festival: Parade begins at the start of Nicollet Mall (S. 6th Street and Nicollet) and ends at Loring Park, 1 p.m., free. Nicollet Mall, downtown Minneapolis, Minneapolis, 612.788.8753. Followed by a concert in Loring Park with Dillinger Four, Happy Apple, STNNNG, the Brass Messengers, Mama Digdowns Brass Band and more at 2:30 p.m., free. Loring Park, Willow St. at W 14th St., Minneapolis.

Black Dog Block Party: With the Coup, Carnage, Desdemona, Junkyard Empire, Los Nativos, Kill the Vultures, more, 2 p.m., free. Black Dog Coffee And Wine Bar, 308 Prince St., St. Paul, 651.228.9274. (Also September 2) Welcome to the Neighborhood! Prince and Broadway Streets, Lowertown, St. Paul

People's Fest in Powderhorn Park, sponsored by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign and the Hip Hop Congress, with Brass Kings, Mic Crenshaw, Blade Triple. 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Pi Bar Flaming Carnival of Deviance--a fun-looking block party!

Private: Southern Delegation Party at First Avenue featuring Sammy Hagar (I wonder: In light of the fuel crisis, has he moderated his views on driving 55?)

Scott Ritter: The author discusses his work and the possibility of war with Iran. Sun., Aug. 31, 7 p.m., $10. First Unitarian Society, 900 Mt Curve Ave., 612.377.6608.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Private Brunch: Rebuilding New Orleans, Hotel Minneapolis, hosted by Broadway South, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.

March on the RNC and Stop the War 11:00 a.m._Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, St. Paul. During the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul. "U.S. Out of Iraq Now! Money for Human Needs, Not War! Demand Peace, Justice and Equality!" Organized by: the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. Info: 612-234-8774.

Take Back Labor Day concert on Harriet Island with Atmosphere, Billy Bragg, the Pharcyde, Steve Earl, Mos Def, Allison Moorer, Tom Morello and friends. 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Private party: Fundraiser for Tipitina Foundation at First Avenue

Culture, without Joseph Hill, who died recently, but with his son Kenyatta Hill. 18+. Triple Rock Social Club: 629 Cedar Ave. S, Minneapolis, 612.333.7399. Mon, Sep. 1, 9 p.m.

Win McCormack: The author discusses You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values. 6:00 p.m., free. Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S, Minneapolis, 612.822.4611.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

Ripple Effect: With Michael Franti & Spearhead, Matisyahu, Dead Prez, Anti Flag, K-Salaam, I Self Devine, Wookiefoot, Tru Ruts showcase, and guest speakers Will Steger and Medea Benjamin. 12:30-7 p.m., free. Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, 651.296.2881. See my recent City Pages piece on K-Salaam here.

Black Dog Block Party: With the Coup, Carnage, Desdemona, Junkyard Empire, Los Nativos, Kill the Vultures, more, 2 p.m., free. Black Dog Coffee And Wine Bar, 308 Prince St., St. Paul, 651.228.9274. (Also September 2) Welcome to the Neighborhood! Prince and Broadway Streets, Lowertown, St. Paul

March for Our Lives: Money For Healthcare, Housing and Education, Not for War! 4:00 p.m. Mears Park, St. Paul, Minnesota. Sponsored by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign Ph: 612.821.2364

Shoot the Messenger/Wake Up World: Comedy show by Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead. With performances by Billy Bragg on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sept. 2-4, 7 p.m., $25. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis, 612.822.3030.

End of an Era: Post RNC Protest Party: With Yoni, Pleasure Pause, Black Blondie, New Rebelution. 18+, 8:30 p.m., $5. Cabooze, 917 Cedar Ave. S, Minneapolis, 612.338.6425.

Provention: A Concert for People, Peace and the Planet: With Nellie McKay, Dan Wilson, the Honeydogs, the New Standards, Haley Bonar, more, 7 p.m., $20. Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E Exchange St., St. Paul, 651.290.1221.

Breaking Convention with Scott Blakeman: A Liberal Dose of Political Comedy: With Will Durst. Sept. 2-4, 7:30 p.m., $15. Mounds Theatre, 1029 Hudson Rd, St. Paul, 651.772.2253.

"If I were Writing John McCain's Acceptance Speech, or, Rewriting Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech": David Frum and John Hinderaker discuss acceptance speeches. Tue., Sept. 2, 7:30-9 a.m., $30. Solera, 900 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612.338.0062

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

Screening: Trouble the Water, an acclaimed new documentary about New Orleans during Katrina, 11:00 a.m. as part of the Impact Film Festival, at the Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th Street (directly across from the Excel Center). RSVP online to attend.

Rage Against the Machine: 7:30 p.m., $60. Target Center, 600 1st Ave. N, Minneapolis, 612.673.0900.

Shoot the Messenger/Wake Up World: Comedy show by Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead. With performances by Billy Bragg on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sept. 2-4, 7 p.m., $25. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis, 612.822.3030.

Breaking Convention with Scott Blakeman: A Liberal Dose of Political Comedy: With Will Durst. Sept. 2-4, 7:30 p.m., $15. Mounds Theatre, 1029 Hudson Rd, St. Paul, 651.772.2253.

Join the 12 year old weekly vigil at ATK. 7 - 8 a.m. rain or shine!_7480 Flying Cloud Drive, Eden Prairie. "Alliant Techsystems (ATK) is the largest Minnesota based military contractor with corporate headquarters located in Eden Prairie, a Minneapolis suburb. The decisions are made here to design and produce cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium munitions and nuclear rocket motors. Join us for potentially the largest weekly vigil in history and we'll wrap it up with a Retro 60's Style Mass Die In!"

Former U.N. Weapons Inspector, Scott Ritter: The Iran Talks. Ritter discusses the "War on Terror" and Iran. Suggested donation: $10.00 (no one turned away). 7:00 p.m. St. Joan of Arc Church, Hospitality Hall, 4537 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis._Co-sponsored by: the WAMM Middle East Committee and U.S. Tour of Duty.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

City-wide student strike

Shoot the Messenger/Wake Up World: Comedy show by Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead. With performances by Billy Bragg on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sept. 2-4, 7 p.m., $25. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis, 612.822.3030.

Wellstone!: This play spans the 19-year career of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Starting Sept. 4, Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 2 p.m. Continues through Sept. 21, $16-$20. Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 S Cedar Lake Rd, Minneapolis, 952.381.3400

The Unconvention: American Politics Sideshow: Weird and Wild: Slideshows, speakers, discussions, a live feed from the RNC. Thu., Sept. 4, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Weisman Art Museum Theatre, 333 East River Road (333 East River Road), Minneapolis, 612.625.9494.

Peace Island Picnic: With music, activities calling for peace. 1-8 p.m., free. Harriet Island, across the Robert St. bridge from downtown, St. Paul, 651.266.6400. Performances by Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Larry Long, David Rovics, Tuesdays Robot, Palbasha Siddique and others--participate in making a human peace sign, join in a peace sing-a-long, and more.

Breaking Convention with Scott Blakeman: A Liberal Dose of Political Comedy: With Will Durst. Sept. 2-4, 7:30 p.m., $15. Mounds Theatre, 1029 Hudson Rd, St. Paul, 651.772.2253.

(again, not necessarily political, just fun) GZA: 18+, 8 p.m., $28/$30. Cabooze, 917 Cedar Ave. S, Minneapolis, 612.338.6425.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 27, 2008 6:18 PM | Comments (0)

Fugazi: 23 Songs (a mix CD)

1. Argument (2001)
2. Do You Like Me (1995)
3. Epic Problem (2001)
4. Forensic Scene (1995)
5. Trio's (1999)
6. Turnover (1990)
7. Waiting Room (1988)
8. Margin Walker (1989)
9. Repeater (1990)
10. Rend It (1993)
11. Reclamation (1991)
12. The Kill (2001)
13. No Suprise (1998)
14. Break (1998)
15. Bed For The Scraping (1995)
16. Burning (1988)
17. Bad Mouth (1988)
18. Great Cop (1993)
19. Greed (1990)
20. Guilford Fall [demo] (1999)
21. Promises (1989)
22. Suggestion (1988)
23. Shut the Door (1990)

Compiled from the following releases:

Fugazi (1988) (collected on 13 Songs): 7, 16, 17, 22
Margin Walker (1989) (collected on 13 Songs): 8, 21
Repeater (1990): 6, 9, 19, 23
Steady Diet Of Nothing (1991): 11
In On The Kill Taker (1993): 10, 18
Red Medicine (1995): 2, 4, 15
End Hits (1998): 13, 14
Instrument (1999): 5, 20
The Argument (2001): 1, 3, 12

Dischord
Dischord Fugazi page

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 27, 2008 3:38 AM | Comments (0)

Thomas Frank: Obama needs outrage

I've been a fan of Thomas Frank, who speaks Wednesday at Barnes & Noble in Edina and Thursday at First Universalist Church in St. Paul, since the 1993 issue of The Baffler headlined "Alternative to What?," a special package on corporatized youth culture that signaled a new, or new-seeming, political left that inhabited the same pop world as I. Haven't read his new book The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule, but I read his recent cover story in Harper's of the same title and heard him speak on Fresh Air (here's his hilarious appearance on Colbert), and the work seems like an essential companion piece to Naomi Klein's recent book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

Both books take on phenomena you always knew existed--political profiteering and war/disaster profiteering, respectively--and delve into each with such zestful reporting, and with outrage impulses intact, that you see the spiraling and worsening effects of our era. Together Frank and Klein describe the massive transfer of government services (such as policing, war--if that's a service--or rebuilding a flooded city) to private hands, to the point where corruption and incompetence no longer adequately describe the bald plunder going on: When public services such as schools are starved or drained to the point where cities turn around and privatize them, that's something closer to a serious mass crime, and deserves to be treated as a moral abomination.

For me, these authors, along with Ken Silverstein, are a way out of lefty cynicism, and a way back into arguing with our more conservative friends, which is probably one reason all of the above are so good at debating in the mainstream. Frank is on-point in his latest Wall Street Journal column (you've come a long way, baby):

The best that conservatives can hope for, I think, is that public opinion will simply harden into a cynicism toward government generally -- that people will transfer the blame for the recent period of conservative misrule to the very institutions that conservatives have abused so grotesquely. There are, naturally, plenty of pundits who have encouraged this blame-the-victim interpretation over the years, and they will be gratified to learn that the public seems to be buying it.

As the political consultant Douglas Schoen wrote in his recent book, "Declaring Independence," "voters are becoming increasingly cynical and demonstrate a record level of skepticism about the government's ability to effect positive change." However, only four pages after pointing this out, Mr. Schoen advises candidates to avoid criticizing the Bush administration, and seems to applaud Mr. Obama for his high-minded "bipartisanship."

This is precisely wrong. If he is to prevail in November, Mr. Obama cannot allow the right to profit from the discontent stirred up by their own misbehavior. Talking about "hope" is very nice when you're leading by 20 points, but what the Democrat has to do, now that John McCain has evened up the score, is take control of public outrage. He should not recoil from the bitterness that's out there. He should speak to it.

As for Nicholas Lemann's use of political scientist Arthur Fisher Bentley as a stick with which to bat Frank about the ears in The New Yorker, I'm reminded of an argument I once had with a professor who believed that Gabriel Kolko's account of pre-WWI Progressive reforms as a "triumph of conservatism" ignored all the business interests who condemned those reforms, who were at each others' throats. But people who feel entitled to the moon always bitch about getting moon rocks instead, I said in effect. And to recognize class interest is not to ignore divisions within that same class.

By contrast, those who highlight same-class divisions sometimes appear to be saying that class interest isn't important or even existent--something Lemann, in classic namby-pamby-New Yorker-style slipperiness, doesn't quite do, but almost does, and in the end might as well have done.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 25, 2008 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

Juliana Hatfield mix

While writing my brief City Pages review of the pretty wonderful new Juliana Hatfield CD, I compiled a Hatfield-plus-her-bands mix for my friend Steve, leaving out anything from the 2001 Blake Babies reunion album and Hatfield's 2004 would-be commercial comeback disc In Exile Deo, neither of which left much of an impression on me. It was fun to discover that I'm a fan after all, though it's pretty obvious by now that if she's ever had a comeback, it's with this new one, from which I selected a crowning total of six songs.

Hatfield will appear on Jay Leno Monday; meanwhile, here's a nice interview in Paste, where she praises, of all things, The Hills.

Juliana Babies

1. Cesspool (1989)
2. Out There (1990)
3. My Sister (1993)
4. The Fact Remains (2008)
5. Universal Heart-Beat (1995)
6. Such A Beautiful Girl (2008)
7. Rain (1989)
8. Houseboy (2000)
9. This Lonely Love (2008)
10. Everybody Loves Me But You (1992)
11. Star (1990)
12. Shining On (2008)
13. Take Your Head Off My Shoulder (1989)
14. I'm Not Your Mother (1990)
15. Just Lust (2008)
16. Spin The Bottle (1993)
17. Look Away (1990)
18. Stay Awake (2005)
19. Somebody Is Waiting For Me (2000)
20. Almost True (2003)
21. My Baby... (2008)
22. Don't Walk Away (2002)

Compiled from the following CDs (with some editing to make it all fit):

Blake Babies, Earwig (1989) 1, 7, 13
Blake Babies, Sunburn (1990) 2, 11, 14, 17
Juliana Hatfield, Hey Babe (1992) 10
The Juliana Hatfield Three, Become What You Are (1993) 3, 16
Juliana Hatfield, Only Everything (1995) 5
Juliana's Pony, Total System Failure (2000) 8
Juliana Hatfield, Beautiful Creature (2000) 19
Juliana Hatfield, Gold Stars 1992-2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection (2002) 22
Some Girls, Some Girls (2003) 20
Juliana Hatfield, Made In China (2005) 18
Juliana Hatfield, How To Walk Away (2008) 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 21

Another fan's (probably better) mix

Here's the video for "This Lonely Love":

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 20, 2008 4:13 PM | Comments (1)

Wait, 'The Hills' is real?

I recently tore through the first couple seasons of MTV's The Hills, whose basic hook is so good, the show absorbed even my girlfriend, who can stand Hollywood deb culture about as much as one of these characters could stand a dishwashing job. The show presents a handful of basically decent--if naive, decadent, and provincial--young women beginning careers in fashion or entertainment, then surrounds them with guys who (and this is key) are much bigger assholes than they are. The central Lauren has all the virtues of a Jane Austen heroine (if anyone more worldly or intellectual crosses her radar, it's usually someone meaner). You can watch the show and imagine why party people who are basically small-town girls and guys--townies with the latest fashions, cars, and VIP club passes--find comfort within their limits, and why the series might appeal without irony to an audience that identifies.

I liked the second season enough that I checked out the special features, and was annoyed to find actor commentary about various scenes delivered in character, and as if the events onscreen had actually happened. Then I watched interviews with cast members in which the actors similarly kept up the pretense. Then I felt a chill. I don't have MTV. I'd heard next-to-nothing about the show before renting. I'd always found it odd that the opening credits list only the characters' first names. Was this show, you know, supposed to be real?

The word "reality" appears skads of times without much elaboration throughout the first several thousand words of last May's Rolling Stone cover story about The Hills, an article I ignored on arrival, but pulled out again to settle my curiosity. Only halfway through does the writer, Jason Gay, even address the question: "Is it real, or BS?"

"I speak to friends who tell me, with zero insider info but total confidence, that each episode is scripted," Gay writes. "Part of the skepticism, of course, stems from the fact that The Hills violates a cardinal convention of reality TV: It doesn't utilize the first-person confessionals ('Jimmy really got trashed at Hooters last night,' etc.) that are a staple of the genre."

But "skepticism" doesn't quite describe what I feel: In a reverse of what some experienced with Blair Witch, I took The Hills to be wholly fictional. And in a way, I still do. With a straight face, Gay describes the structured environment behind the scenes of The Hills, a system that allows multiple camera angles, but without cameras onscreen; a filming schedule "diligently mapped (on average the girls film four days a week)"; a series of arranged jobs and photogenic professional tasks; reenactments of conversations; and various other artificially-created social and professional situations. "Talking with the girls," Gay writes, "it's clear that each lives a kind of double life--a televised Hills life, and a non-Hills one, with separate friends and confidantes." What he's describing isn't the real world encroaching on a television studio, but a television studio expanded out to real-world proportions.

That's not "reality." I don't care if two actors have an affair off-screen that enhances the realism of what we see in their fictional movie. Flogging that off-camera story might help publicity, but it doesn't make fiction fact. Acted stories always play with real-life elements, down to the very real bodies and motion onstage or on camera--that's why actors call it "playing." But one reason Gay's qualified use of the term "cinema verite" to describe The Hills is so misplaced, and so infuriating, is that the tradition it invokes acknowledged, and actually emphasized, the inherent ambiguity of turning a camera on real people and expecting them to act naturally. Jean Rouch's Chronicle of a Summer--arguably the first reality show--let the director and camera crew into the frame to demystify both, then let the subjects observe and react to their onscreen selves.

The Hills should be judged for what it is: A highly evolved work of realistic fiction, albeit one marketed as "reality." The dialogue is almost musical in its inarticulate and intuitive rhythm: However it was created (written, improvised, captured, faked, or felt), it sounds more like how people actually express themselves than even most "reality" drama, which is usually just hothouse showboating from celebrities thinking up what they're going to say next. As the Rolling Stone piece points out, the show looks beautiful, a seared and jumpy vision purportedly modeled on Michael Mann's Heat. And while the device of lingering on the faces of characters at the end of each scene as the soundtrack kicks in is overused, it strikes me as new, and it works.

The MTV employees laboring to convince you that The Hills is real rather than realistic need the mass audience that gossip creates more than they need the relatively small one that resents being lied to, or disdains reality media altogether. I imagine the show's packagers reassure themselves that the gossip lovers hit what they head for, and I kind of agree: If you're truly spending voyeuristic energy wondering whether Lauren and Heidi actually hate each other in real life, you're already wasting your time, not having it wasted for you. And this Trekkie and music geek doesn't view wasting time as necessarily a bad thing, just what it is. "[The Hills] is as real or fake as the characters want to make it," says one actor to Gay, carefully preserving the facade. The same could be said for the viewers.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 16, 2008 2:03 PM | Comments (3)

K'Naan at First Avenue Monday

Somali rapper K'Naan plays First Avenue tomorrow as a climactic finale to the Twin Cities Pan African Festival, which also featured a free rare screening today a Fela documentary I'd never seen (thanks to Justin Schell and Rob Nelson for their coverage). K'Naan was the one African rapper every other African rapper could agree on in my City Pages story about local African hip hop two years ago, "Payback is a Motherland," a beat Justin Schell has picked up with zeal and is documenting on video and for a book. Hope to see my African and American friends there, as well as a few rap heads looking to cross boundaries.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 10, 2008 10:47 PM | Comments (1)

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