Arcade Fire: Show, Recording & Interview

The spoils of having a roommate who works for a booking agency are simple; invitations to great shows, sometimes sold out for months, for free. Josh Mulder took me to see the Arcade Fire at the University of Illinois, Chicago pavilion on Friday, April 22^nd. They played three, sold out shows that weekend with The National opening each night. Josh’s company hooked him up with great seats in the first section on the left side of the arena, one row up from the floor. After-show passes were included too. The National went on at 8:00 pm for an hour and a half set. Opening bands have never really blown me away with their performances and this one was no different. Their newest album “High Violet” has been a personal favorite of mine this year. The poor quality of the vocals and the limited space on stage really hindered their performance. Arcade Fire started at 10:00 with a short video of kids riding around on bikes in the suburbs. The clips were stylized to look like they were shot on an old hand held Bolex camera from the 1970’s. As the video faded out they burst onto stage and opened with “Month of May.” Arcade Fire is unique in their performances, rotating between multiple instruments and confusing the audience with their bizarre visuals. Their music is symphonic, filling the arena with the melodies of eight musicians in harmony. The most interesting points of the concert came as the musicians rotated between the 16-plus instruments on stage. At one point, Régine Chassagne, a lead vocalist, started playing an instrument called a “Hurdy-Gurdy.” I had to pull out my phone in the middle of the song and look up what hell this thing was. The 14-song set consisted mostly of tunes from their Grammy winning album “The Suburbs.” Half way through the two-hour show they played “We used to wait,” and prior to the encore they closed with “Sprawl II (Mountains beyond mountains).” I had the rare opportunity to watch them re-recorded those two songs acoustically during a four-hour session at WBEZ radio on Monday.

Some fellow classmates and I hopped on the #26 bus to Navy Pier to enjoy the benefits of having professors actually in the businesses they teach about. Since our class overlapped with the scheduling of the interview with Arcade Fire, our professor invited us to join him at WBEZ for the show. Once we got through the labyrinth that is Navy Pier and found the elevators for the radio station, we checked in at reception. The band took a little bit longer than scheduled to get there, this gave us a chance to discuss class matters and catch up on current events. We had a quick tour of the office, which WEBZ is renting for a dollar a day for a hundred years. We were led into a studio across from the recording space the Arcade Fire was using. The large window and linked speakers gave us a unique view of the band. Unless you’re in the business, it’s pretty rare to see a band, especially one on their level, creating music right in front of your eyes. Arcade Fire just won a Grammy for album of year; solidifying their place as important musicians. It was evident that they were in control of what was going on, people were going to cater to their needs and the recording process wasn’t going to be finished until they were satisfied. They were having fun though. We got to see one of the biggest bands in the world as they really are, with no stage personas or filters. It took a lot longer than expected for them to finish their songs. Frustration began to set in with people in our studio. To be fair, they were re-creating two of their songs into acoustic versions. Those familiar with “We used to wait” and “Sprawl II (Mountains beyond mountains)” noticed the immediate changes to the songs and that sparked enough interest to wait it out. The repetitive nature of song recording can be aggravating though. Arcade Fire spent the majority of two hours finishing up these two songs before they called it a day and took off into the city.

The second part of the radio session featured an interview with the band. Originally it was thought that Win Butler and Régine Chassagne would be doing the interview so they could discuss their song writing process and inspirations. Typical of anyone in a power position they decided to rest their voices and skip the interview. That was a bit of a let down but there’s nothing anyone can do. Richard Perry and Will Butler, Wins younger brother, took their places and did an interview that was more light hearted than the DJ’s had intended. That’s not to say the content of the interview wasn’t interesting or informative but they presented themselves in a jokingly manner. As the interviewed concluded we walked into the studio and met Perry and Butler. We talked for a few seconds, they’re generally nice guys for moments up until their assistant made it very clear that they had to leave. Our class, the two musicians and their managers crammed into the elevator and we strolled out into rainy Chicago and waved good-bye.

Final Review Outline

The Road, By Cormac McCarthy (Vintage Books, 2007) &

“The Road” (Directed by John Hillcoat, 2009)

Compare the book The Road with its film recreation.

Discuss the pros and cons of making a book into a film.

Discuss the book’s writing style compared to the writing of the film.

-Cormac McCarthy and Screenwriter Joe Penhall

Did the film stay true to the book?

How is the story affected when the main characters don’t have names?

What is the significance of the book? Does the film have the same qualities?

"COPS" (1989-2010)

Reality television today consists of douche bags on a beach or housewives of who cares making an ass of themselves for a camera crew and a producer. The show that started this reality craze is the complete of opposite of this scripted nonsense. “COPS” has become a staple of American Television, considered one of the first reality shows, it still manages to stay to true to the documentary style that makes it so intense.

Since its premier in 1989, “COPS” has taken us along for the ride as men and women of various police departments around the United States enforce the law. “COPS” is what reality television should be--real. The concept of the show is simple, a cameraman and his subject at work. There is no way to script human reactions during a confrontation with a police officer. The success of “COPS” comes from the unpredictability of humans when authority confronts them. Shot in a cinema verite style, “COPS” uses no narration; it relies on the commentary from the officers to explain their situations. This documentary style television is different then the huge productions we typically see today, there’s only one subject being interviewed making it more personal and easier to follow for the viewer. “COPS” does exploit the differences in social classes by focusing on arrests that happen in poorer neighborhoods. These people provide cheap laughs but when you look the past the surface a lot of this show is tragic.

“COPS” has aired 948 episodes in 23 seasons. Making it one of the longest running shows in television history. Lets see “The Real Housewives of: Orange County” pump out that many seasons. That’s the thing with most reality television today; it burns bright for a few years and then a new show pops up to replace it. The reason that “COPS” has sustained such a long life span is because it can’t be scripted. Shows today call themselves reality and the reason they do so is because that label sells, but behind the camera these people are being told what to do and what to say by producers that know how to make successful television. “COPS” stands alone as the true reality show because it’s premise is so simple. However you feel about law enforcement, “COPS” is a show that all people can get a kick out of. It’s lasted this long because America is fascinated with how these officers conducted themselves when they are forced to control the authority. The term reality should belong to shows that are just that, real.

“Dennis Hopper Plays With An American flag”

“Apocalypse Now” Pagsanjan, Philippines (1976)

Mary Ellen Mark’s photography on film sets is, for any cinema lover, a priceless look at life behind the camera. In 1976 she was on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam epic “Apocalypse Now.” A film that has become infamous as a modern masterpiece and a horrifying example of what can go wrong on set.

Her collection of photographs titled, “Seen Behind The Scene” was published in 2008. It features 264 pages of photography on film sets from “Tootsie” to “One flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” Mark chose 11 photographs from “Apocalypse Now” to include. Two photos feature her on the set.

The most important photograph from this film shows a young Dennis Hopper looking through a tattered American Flag. He is dressed in character, clutching the frayed end of a perfect metaphor about the war in Vietnam and “Apocalypse Now.” The worn flag represents the feelings of Americans after the war. It represents loss and absence. Hoppers character is a representation of the veterans that could no longer cope with reality. He is looking through America. Through the holes that were the social problems facing the returning veterans. “Apocalypse Now” is a journey through the men, specially the men on the boat, each going through a mental separation from reality. This photograph captures this metaphor hauntingly; Hopper is the embodiment of them, holding the spirit of the war in his hand.

Mark usually only works in black and white photography. This is very effective when you’re trying to show heightened emotion. She framed it in a fashion that instantly locks your eyes with Hoppers. A dark blemish in the left corner of the picture adds to the imperfections of the flag, Hopper and the creation of the film.

Mary Ellen Mark’s photograph is significant in several ways; it represents an unforgettable event in American history. It ties together both the film itself and the metaphors within it. The difficulties of making “Apocalypse Now” can be seen in the tears and holes of the damaged flag. This photo is a representation of war and the war of creating art.

“Almost Famous” (Cameron Crowe, 2000)

“Almost Famous” Succeeds as another genuinely authentic period piece from director Cameron Crowe. The film is set as the golden age of rock and roll comes to an end in the late 1970’s. “Almost Famous” takes us on the road with a young rock critic named William Miller as he discovers what it really means to be a critic in this chaotic business.

William is on tour with the fictional rock group “Still Water,” a band going through the motions of up and coming stardom. Crowe molds a cast of actors into the perfect example of what a 1970’s rock band would be. “He’s the enemy,” is a repeated quote by the band toward William for being a critic. To “Still Water,” a critic is an unrelenting spy set out to show the world who they really are. In a sense that’s what William is doing, but his genuine love for the band gives him a bias that is anything but malicious. Crowe continually poses a question throughout the film; can a rock critic truly be unbiased toward a band?

Legendary rock critic Lester Bangs mentors William throughout the film. Portrayed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bangs serves as the answer man to all of William’s troubled questions about dealing with rock-stars and Rolling Stone editors. Bangs tells William after another somber phone call, “ Aw, man. You made friends with them. See, friendship is the booze they feed you. They want you to get drunk on feeling like you belong.” Bangs is trying to teach William that being a critic means separating himself from the good times and realizing the actualization of what his job is, to write what he sees.

As “Still Water” slowly dissolves because of petty arguments between the band members, William begins to see them for who they really are. The climax of the film comes as their tour plane begins to nose dive. Everyone in the band frantically confesses their sins and William gets the story he’s been fighting months for, almost. Russell, the lead guitar player, tells William in the airport after their hellish flight comes to an end to, “Write what you want.” And that’s exactly what he does. Rolling Stone does a follow up with “Still Water” after William turns in his article and they deny every event that transpired. A hard lesson is learned about being a rock critic, if the band denies anything it can’t be published. A defeated William retreats to the comforts of his bedroom until a confused lead guitarist shows up by mistake. Russell sets the record straight about the Rolling Stone article and William finally gets the interview he’s been waiting for.

“Vertigo” (Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

The opening sequence was unlike anything of its time. Saul bass created a title sequence that is as unnerving as perhaps acrophobia is to James Stewart’s character Scottie Ferguson. The original score by Muir Mathieson builds tension through the title sequence and transitions to a rooftop chase in San Francisco where we are first introduced to Scottie Ferguson. As they leap from buildings, Ferguson slips and catches himself on a gutter. The famous “Dolly Zoom” from his point of view shows a camera trick introduced by Hitchcock that has been considered revolutionary in the film industry. Unknown Second unit director of Photography Irmin Roberts created this trick where the camera is pulled back from the scene while the lens zooms into it. After learning about Ferguson’s condition, acrophobia, some back-story is introduced between Ferguson and Barbara Bel Geddes character Midge Wood. (The location itself is almost a contradiction to Fergusons phobia. He is seen driving up and down these massive rolling hills but is unable to climb a simple flight of stairs. Hitchcock uses many subtle paradoxes’ to show the condition of Ferguson, shooting in the Red Wood Forest for example, where there are some of the tallest trees on earth.) Ferguson and Wood engage in small talk about the future of Ferguson as a detective and an old acquaintance that has got in touch with him again. This Acquaintance employs Ferguson to follow his ill wife, whom he believes is possessed. For the better half of the film Ferguson is trying to understand what Kim Novak’s Character Madeleine Elster is dealing with. Ferguson saves her from a botched suicide attempt at the Golden Gate Bridge but when the time comes to truly save her Ferguson is crippled by his phobia and is unable to do so. From this point on we see a weakened man struggling to come to terms with loosing the love of his life. As Ferguson attempts to move on with his life he meets a women that is eerily familiar. The latter of the film is his attempt to turn this woman into Madeleine. While he does we learn some haunting back-story about who this women really is and what her intentions were with Ferguson. As she agrees to transform into this women, Ferguson is slowing piecing the story. The biggest indication that something is terribly wrong was a simple grey suit that Madeleine wears. It’s always been to odd to dress one of the main characters, especially a blonde, in all grey, it’s certainly an indication that something is off-putting about this character. As the story winds to an end, Ferguson makes this women re-live the haunting death of Madeleine at the mission in San Juan Batista. The Actually bell tower that is in the film isn’t real, some trick camera work implies that it’s there; according to IMDb the dolly zoom in the stairwell of the bell tower cost $19,000 for only a few seconds of screen time. During the haunting conclusion Ferguson is able to overcome his phobia and wrap up the story with costly consequences for his love.
Hitchcock has always been praised as the master of suspense and “Vertigo” is a testament to his skills as a film director and storyteller. Hailed as his masterpiece, “Vertigo” is a landmark achievement in film. Though it didn’t receive the praise it has today when it was initially released in 1958, “Vertigo” is widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made.

Kayne West, “All of the lights” (Directed by Hype Williams, 2011)

Kanye West has a new music video out for the song, “All of the lights” from his fifth studio album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” Collaborating with artists Rihanna and Kid Cudi, this is one of the more anthemic songs on his new album. Acclaimed Hip-Hop artist Hype Williams directed this music video as he has so many others. Unlike the usual Hip-Hop music videos Williams has created “All of the lights” is a blatant rip off of Gaspar Noe’s 2009 film “Enter the Void.” The similarities are uncanny. The opening title sequence of “Enter the void” is a visceral mind-fuck that has never been done before. The bright texts flash continuously giving the viewer only seconds to read what they later realize is the credits for the film. Every single frame of this sequence is a constant changing text with bright, flashing motion graphics incorporated throughout. Those who are familiar with the film will tell you that the title sequence is a triumph in the collaboration of text, motion graphics and frantic editing techniques.

West and Williams use this distinct editing technique without giving Noe any credit for the inspiration of this music video. The video its self is actually quite good because of the introduction of this sequence in a music video. But one could argue that the titles of “Enter the void” are a music video in their own right. The rest of “All of the lights” follows the typical structure for any Hip-Hop video, the beautiful Rihanna wearing an outfit that looks like it was made from electrical tape, West fighting with a girl and jumping on cops cars. It has all the makings of a decent music video but the obvious stolen sequences from “Enter the void” makes this video is a crime to the art of the film. West will unfortunately receive praise for this music video because the general population isn’t necessarily familiar with Gaspar Noe or “Enter the void.” This wouldn’t be a problem if West gave credit where credit is due. “Enter the void” is so unique that trying to get away with this music video as an original piece of art is ludicrous.

Follow the links to view the similarities...

"All of the lights"

"Enter the void"