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Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, The Man Behind the Music
I am not the biggest Nirvana fan but Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck hits all the right notes, and takes you on an emotional roller coaster. The perfect documentary must inform, entertain, enlighten and possibly move the audience. The documentary is the most authentic and intimate portrait of not only the band Nirvana, but also the frontman Kurt Cobain: it is one of the best films of the year so far. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is directed by Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in The Picture) and is produced by Kurt Cobain's Daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.
The film focuses more on Kurt’s childhood than his career, bringing together interviews with family, girlfriends and childhood friends. This is juxtaposed with super 8 footage of Kurt Cobain's childhood that has previously been unreleased. Diary entries and animated sequences bring us into his mind, reflecting his emotional state during various ventures of his life. As a rebellious teenager he would be tossed around from family to family, discarded as soon as he became unwanted. All he wanted was love, but he was unable to find it during his teenage years.
Next came the forming of the band, where we see them form, rehearse and finally start performing at small venues. Their first record, Bleach finds moderate success but Nevermind would become one of the most influential albums in rock history. Amidst all this, he would meet Courtney Love, who he would marry. In the home videos it seems Kurt and Courtney had found love, but they would be also each other’s demise. Kurt seems to turn a new leaf on life when his daughter, Frances Bean is born as he tries to show her all the love he never felt in life.
The band also records In Utero while the relationship between Kurt and Courtney becomes increasingly tumultuous. A series of articles expose the drug-addled habits of the new parents, and also hints at possible infidelity on Love’s part. Home videos reveal Kurt at his very worst as the drugs have taken over, a disheartening video shows him losing consciousness as he cares for his daughter. The film ends with footage from Nirvana’s performance on MTV Unplugged. A title card follows stating "One month after returning from Rome, Kurt Cobain took his own life. He was 27 years old." just before the end credits roll.
This is the most authentic and intimate portrait of Kurt Cobain. The documentary moved me the most through home videos, especially the one where we clearly see the drugs have won and taken over Kurt Cobain right before his life ends. I had to ask myself as I was exiting the theatre why I was moved by this man's life when I was not his biggest fan. Maybe it is the fact that his human spirit that can be found is his music finally touched me as I better understood what motivated him to make the kind of music he did.
5/5
'Unfriended' not your typical found footage film
It seems this day in age the horror genre gets generic after a while, with the same found footage and that thuds to make the decibel levels jump. Unfriended is different from the counterpart horror films in two ways. The first is that it takes place entirely on a computer screen, and secondly this horror teen thriller tackles the touchy subject of suicide and bullying patterns, that is a present problem that teenagers in our society are encountering. Unfriended is rated 13 + for subject matter, violence, scenes of horror and scenes of sensuality. This cyber natural thriller is directed by Russian director Levan Gabriadze.
The film starts out with a glitchy Universal logo. Boom, we are looking at the main actor, Blaire Lily's computer screen. Blaire is tapping away looking up various articles and videos of her high school Laura Barns. This includes a video of Laura parting and in another video committing suicide. We find out that it is the anniversary of the suicide of Laura Barns. Spotify opens up and starts playing, as Blaire has an intimate chat with her boyfriend Mitch about losing her virginity over Skype. They are interrupted with a sudden collection of their Skype friends open up a conversation with them, and make fun of them having an intimate moment, which includes the childish Mitch's boner joke. There is also a ghost person named Billy, who is thought to be a glitch. We find out later that the "glitch" will not leave them alone. Blaire also keeps receiving messages from Laura Burns via Facebook. As much as these are a group of friends we see how rumours, harassment and bullying can lead to fights within the group of friends. The horror starts when various connections get laggy followed by sudden horrific and gruesome character deaths. Billy forces all the remaining teenagers to confess their sins, as well the biggest sin of all their involvement in the leaky Laura YouTube video, that lead Laura to commit suicide.
Unfriended has found it's target audience social media saavy teens who are looking for something a little beyond the typical PG-13 flick. Having the main action on the computer screen becomes interesting, because we get a character study of Blair through her internet searches, web history, pages tabbed or even in the way she will type, delete and retype. Most of all even though we read about it or see it in the news, Unfriended confronts their target audience with the themes of teenage bullying and suicide is where it succeeds as a horror film providing a social commentary to it's target viewers.
4/5
Festival International Nuits D’Afrique: Top 5 picks & Champions of the Local Scene: Wed @ 6pm
Want to check out Festival International Nuits D’Afrique 29th Edition July 7 – July 19, 2015 but don’t know where to start?! Look no further, Emily Brass’ TOP PICKS are here for you! With more than 100 concerts and activities, free outdoor events, and a Village Nuits D’Afrique, we are happy to help you plan your festival days! And if that were not enough, Emily will also be hosting “Champions of the Local Scene” Nuits D’Afrique special this Wednesday, July 8th 6-7pm on CJLO! Be sure to tune in, for your chance to win tickets to such Nuits D'Afrique shows as Le Grand Méchant Zouk, Famalé, and more!
Emily Brass’ TOP PICKS for Festival International Nuits D'Afrique:
1) Le Grand Méchant Zouk at Métropolis at 59 Ste-Catherine Est (corner St-Laurent), July 12, 2015 – 08:30 PM
Kassav’ often puts on the hottest show at Nuits d’Afrique. Literally. The Antillean zouk legends pump out pulsating rhythms and upbeat vibes that get the crowd rocking so hard, dancers beg for mercy. Start to move, and you won’t be able to stop, even as your feet ache and your clothes are drenched with sweat.
Le Grand Méchant Zouk was conceived by Kassav’ member Jacob Desvarieux. The festival describes the happenings as a “cult-like scene in France, where each show unites thousands of spectators in a feverish atmosphere.”
More than twenty musicians will take the stage, as the band’s key players join forces with other zouk heavyweights, including Luc Leandry and Shoubou of Tabou Combo.
Guaranteed to get the temperature rising!
2) La Nuit de la Kora at Le Gésu, 1200 de Bleury, Montréal (Qc) Canada H3B 3J3, July 10, 2015 – 08:00 PM
No instrument is more mesmerizing than the kora. A predecessor of the banjo, the 21-string harp made of a hollowed gourd and cow skin has a sound that transports you to an oasis of musical bliss. Unlike the soft, silky tones of an orchestral harp, the kora also has a percussive edge to it, making it stand out from the guitar and hand drums that often accompany it.
La Nuit de la Kora will feature two masterful players, West African Quebecer, Diely Mori Tounkara, and Djeli Moussa Diawara, on tour from Guinea. Both are schooled in the tradition of the griots, the traditional minstrels of West Africa.
Prepare to voyage to a mystical place that will awaken your heart and soothe your soul.
3) Chico Trujillo at Scène Loto-Québec – Parterre du Quartier des Spectacles, July 15, 21:30
One of the most original bands on the roster, Chico Trujillo is a nine-piece groove unit from Chile that throws everything from cumbia to reggae to Andean folk into the musical pot, while adding a little hip-hop and punk for extra flavour. The music is bold and infectious, even psychedelic, while staying true to the Latin roots that nurture the band’s unique sound.
They also look like a lot of fun to party with! A free show, and bound to be a hot one.
4) Bongeziwe Mabandla at Club Balattou, July 8 – 21:00
With silky smooth vocals, Bongeziwe Mabandla blends sweet South African sounds with hip-hop rhythms, laying down catchy choruses to make you smile as you move your feet. He sings in English and Xhosa, and an enrapturing vibe emerges as he sings haunting solo songs on top of soulful acoustic guitar.
An intimate set at one of the festivals smaller venues, don’t miss this chance to get acquainted with a young, up and coming talent.
5) Antibalas at Scène Loto-Québec – Parterre du Quartier des Spectacles, July 17, 21:30
American Afrobeat army Antibalas wield a funky, full-on soul offensive, with masterful, multifaceted instrumentations that harken the ghost of Fela Kuti. The multicultural, melting pot ensemble has been hitting the circuit for years, delivering top-notch, throbbing grooves to bring down the house in the US and Europe, most recently while on tour with Zap Mama.
It’s the kind of show you can lose yourself in, shaking parts of your body you may have never shaken before. This is a free show at the outdoor site, sure to be one of the most fiery sets at this year’s fest!
NEWS UPDATE: At least three provinces fighting forest fires
Ash is raining from the sky, and smoke is blotting out the sun and creating eerie yellow horizons in the western part of Canada as more than 418 wildfires burn.
According to Global News and the Globe and Mail, almost 4,500 fires have burned over 2,150,000 hectares of forest since the beginning of the year.
In British Columbia, Metro Vancouver has had to issue an air-quality advisory and advise those with medical conditions to forgo strenuous activities until it has lifted due to smoke in the city. Evacutaion orders have also been issued in Kootenay, Central Okanagan districts, and the Port Hardy area- which issued a state of emergency on Saturday.
In Saskatchewan, close to one thousand military personel were deployed to help fight the wildfires. More evactuation orders were issued for the La Ronge area, Lac La Ronge and Montreal Lake First Nations. Provincial officials are saying that the amount of land that is normally taken by wildfires is over ten times higher than normal this year.
In Alberta, hundreds of people in the North Tallcree First Nation were forced to flee their homes when the wildfires came within five kilometres of the community, and more in the northern parts of the provence have been put on evacuation alert.
The Globe and Mail reports that the fire is believed to be man-made, and began Friday night on the Tsulquate River, 1.5 kilometres west of Port Hardy. Experts are blaming El Nino for accelerating the fires and dampening efforts to fight them, as it alters the atmosphere and changes weather patterns. While this happens every two to seven years, this year El Nino is reducing precipitation instead of the usual increase in average temperatures.
July 6th 2015
Hosted by Danny Aubry
Stories written by Catlin Spencer
Produced by Saturn De Los Angeles
News For Monday July 6th 2015
Joining the Movement : A recap of AIM's debut weekend
How do you start a movement? I'm not sure, but the organizers and DJs of the first ever Art Innovation Movement festival - or AIM - sure know how.
The inaugural edition of AIM ended just a few days ago - and I'm still wishing it hadn't. My goal in attending the festival was to see if I would be able to find the beauty of house and techno music. As someone who got their start in trance and dubstep, I got to the festival with my nose up in the air, and left with my feet in the dirt; humbled by the weekend's beautiful sound and experiences.
I have to say that I am absolutely blown away by the diversity of both house and techno music. There was a lot more house than techno at AIM, and although it was nothing like what I was expecting, it was everything that I would want to experience again. In an attempt to capture a minute amount of AIM's awesomeness, here's a recap of the best of the fest.
Best Set Overall
As someone who hadn't typically listened to much house or techno prior to this past weekend, I wish that I could choose just one "best set" to give you some kind of definitive picture of my favourite sonic experience. However, I am unable to choose just one. Instead, I'll pursue objectivity and relive some of the most memorable performances:
Four Tet's set is one of the most memorable for me. Even though I can't really put my finger on the genre of the music that the Londoner was playing; out of the hour and a half that he was up, the last 45 minutes really got me going. The music wasn't energetic as far as beat goes, but as a sucker for lofty, atmospheric melodies, Friday's pre-closing set was more than I expected in terms of enjoyability, and was my first real introduction to tech house, too.
Electro Acrylique: This performance was so cool!! Electro Acrylique is a group (consisting of DJ Pfreud and artist Alexi Stefano) that combines hi-tech and low-tech artforms via electroacoustic live painting performance. When Alexi's canvas is hooked up and he begins to paint, each brush stroke creates a sound, which he and Pfreud use to create rhythms, and eventually, a completely danceable sound and a beautiful piece of artwork.
Geistboy: I don't think Geistboy was added to the lineup until the timeslots were posted on Facebook, but either way, it's a good thing. I don't think that people want to feel less talented than someone significantly younger than them until they absolutely have to. Still, during Geistboy's set, I was way too wrapped up in the music to feel bad about the fact that this DJ is only sixteen years young. It was a great morning set to get the vibe going at the Moog stage for the remaining 2 days of festival madness. An equal mix between his original material and selected tracks, the set was full of heavy grooves and fluctuated between minimal and hard rhythms that carried on seamlessly into the next set.
Eekkoo: I was really proud to see Eekkoo playing at AIM. I wanted to attend his set, because the last time I saw him, he was opening up for Deadmau5 for a crowd of about seven people at New City Gas last year. I know that there were a lot of people at the stage for Eekkoo, but I wasn't paying attention to anyone except the man himself and the infectious beats he was dropping. Hard hitting and danceable rhythms all around, and just the right amount of a progressive flair for a deep, but wild set.
Best Technical Difficulty: CRi's set was set to take place afrer Shash'u on Friday afternoon when it cut off about 10 minutes in. There were one or two periods of music, but the set was, for the majority, simply cut because of unforeseen issues. An honourable mention goes out to how bad the location's humidity must have been for everyone's equipment for the duration of the festival. I hope nothing broke!
Jamie xx
The Martinez Brothers
Tiga
Pat Boogie
Best Live Performance: Tesla Boy
I'd been looking forward to Tesla Boy because they're so different from the rest of the AIM lineup. Instead of one person having ample room at a table on the Moog stage. Tesla Boy's four members were cramped into the small space for a kicking live performance with bass, guitar, and drums. The crowd was into the music, and the fans of the group went wild when they played "Strong". The best part for me was the last technical difficulty of the evening when the members of the band went in to a collective drum solo, only to resume the rest of their performance flawlessly.
Biggest Regret: Missing So Many Great Acts.
I regret sleeping! After reading about the AIM lineup, I don't think there was anyone I didn't want to see. I missed Kevin Saunderson, Nathan Burns & Soundshaper, Mightykat, Shash'u...I could go on, but I knew I wouldn't have time to see everyone. When looking at the remainder of the lineup after I woke up each day, it broke my heart a little looking at what I had missed.
Best Visuals:
AIM put a lot of emphasis on the fact that there would be projection art at the festival. Somehow, when reading about that, I didn't expect a feel-like-you're-tripping style light show when I walked up to the main stage at one-thirty in the morning, but that's what happened. Edu Imbernon's visuals were absolutely crazy. Flashes of strobe lights, lightning, and dripping kaleidoscopes of flashy colour were among the projections that lit the stage for the set, and brought the high-energy music to an entirely different level.
Dreems at the Multi Culti Stage
The Best Hidden Gem: The Multi-Culti stage:
In a spacious corner away from the rest of the festival was where I decided to end my weekend. It was a little oasis that only came to life on Saturday night. As opposed to the other big stages that were surrounded by concrete and electronic visuals, this humble set-up was decorated in tiki lights, tree branches, ferns, and spiced with incense. Groovy psychedelic sets with dreamy, ethnic beats and sets dominated the two days that the Multi-Culti stage was active. At the heart of it all was Thomas Von Party. There's something truly unique about this guy that I can`t quite put my finger on. He's got an enthusiastic energy that carried through his sets and permeated the entire dance floor; as he danced between the crowd, the turntables, backstage, and around again. Auntie Flo, Dreems and DJ Three were some of the others that made up Von Party`s entourage and kept the significantly smaller crowd on their feet until the ending hours of the festival.
Needless to mention, after I watched Nature Of Music's emotive performance, the Multi-Culti stage is where I spent the last hours of my AIM experience. I hope that AIM continues to grow and expand their horizons and how they view the festival experience. It came with a unique atmosphere and set of performers that are all set up for immense success as their careers continue to blossom. Aside from some minor technical difficulties that set one of the stages back a little bit, I believe there's only one way they could improve on their first edition of the festival: have a second one.
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Want more AIM? Listen to Thinkbox's interview with Tesla Boy's Anton and Electro Acrylique's Alec Stephani on the July 3rd Edtion of The Machine Stops.
Thinkbox hosts The Machine Stops every Friday from 9:00 to 10:00am, only on CJLO 1690AM.
All photos are credited to Vivien Gaumand - This is HERD.
FRINGE 2015: A conversation with Choses Sauvages
On Thursday night June 20th, two bands performed at le Divan Orange during the homestretch of the Music at the Fringe Festival series.
The bombastic Mehdi Cayenne Club opened at 10. Mehdi, the lead singer of the band with a happy-go-lucky personality, added some extra spice to their already explosive musical set.
When I asked the girl sitting right next to me what she thought of the show, she answered: ”Je sais pas ce que j’en pense, mais j’embarque”.* Turns out, she’s a blogger named Valerie Poulin. If a little French reading doesn’t scare you, head over at Feu à Volonté to get her impressions on the concert.
Later that night, there was the funky eclectic Choses Sauvages. It means Wild Things in case you’re wondering. And they’re as untamed and wild as their name entails.
I spoke to the band members — Félix, Tommy, Marc, Philippe – and their occasional guitarist from Foreign Diplomats, Élie — for CJLO at le Divan’s backstage, or as we call it around here, the underbelly.
Read more to see our conversation, translated into English from the original interview in French:
...
Frantz: How do you feel?
Choses Sauvages: After this show? Good. It all went super well. Our performance was tight.
The venue manager walks in and interrupts the conversation
CS: Sorry about that! Did you enjoy the show, Frantz?
Frantz: I loved it! A bit earlier, I was discussing with Philippe the way you played with your rhythm. You got me real good! I was sure your were using somewhat exotic measures and time signatures, but he told me it was all the good old standard 4/4.
CS: We do insert a beat, or bar of silence here and there. We also try to insert some weird beats on more pop sounding riffs. We make dancey music so we’re just trying to have fun while playing.
Frantz: You guys go from pop, to rock, to funk, to jazz …
CS: The thing is, we’re four guys who don’t necessarily listen to the same things at the same time. Choses Sauvages is lot of ostinage* to reach a final product that we can all agree on.
Everybody laughs
From the get go, we are friends who enjoy playing music together. There’s no preset structure to the band and you can hear how eclectic our first EPs are [“Late Night” in 2013, “L’épave trouée” in 2014, and “Japanese Jazz” in 2015]. But on the album we’re working on —
Frantz: There’s an album coming!?
CS: Yeah … hmm… We’re working on it…
Frantz: Any release date in mind?
CS: It’s all in the air for now. We’re giving ourselves a good year to compose new material and see where we go from there. We feel that as a band, we have reached a cohesive sound. We’re somewhat all into funk jazz and Herbie Hancock right now. So we’ve decided that we want to play jazz even though we’re not jazz musicians.
Frantz: I heard this was your last show…
CS: …our last for this summer. Actually, it’s only our last show in an official Montreal venue. We might still busk at Place-d’Armes during lunch hour.
We’re also going to Sorel, where there’s the Fast Festival. That’s pretty cool. In fact, Sorel is like the Liverpool of Quebec. There’s the Port and the Old Town and people chew tobacco.
But actually, we haven’t booked that many shows. It’s been hard to manage: keeping the buzz alive, coming up with new songs, preparing sets for shows and performing — all at the sametime. We want it to be a smooth ride from now on, take it easy, and simply concentrate on composing new material.
Frantz: Are you guys all from Montreal?
CS: We’re from the North Shore. St-Eustache. Rosemère. And Ste-Adèle in the deep Laurentians. We’ve been living in Montreal for the past five or six years.
Frantz: Did you guys all meet at the same CEGEP?
CS: (Félix responds) I didn’t go to CEGEP. It didn’t want me.
Frantz: I have the impression it’s actually you that didn’t want CEGEP.
Everyone laughs
Your set is in Frenglish. You sing in English and talk to the audience in French. How does that work?
CS: We don’t know? Actually, let’s throw that question back at you.
Frantz: (laughs) Sure! What’s the question again?
CS: What do you think of our Frenglish set?
Frantz: I find it truly interesting how you manage to reach two crowds here in Montreal with a bilingual show.
CS: Would you keep the set as is?
Frantz: Yup
CS: Right now, Frenglish seems to work better in the Hip hop world. It’s not as widely accepted in “rock” bands. People have a hard time labeling us, and it’s something that becomes really complicated when we’re applying for festivals or trying to persuade record companies to sign us up.
If the question is: do you sing in English or in French? We go with what we feel. We write music and lyrics the way we feel like. We don’t really think of language and whatnot. We’re not making a statement. If we lived in the best of worlds, that wouldn’t be an issue.
It’s funny. Around the world, you will have a band — be it Swedish or whatnot — that will sing in English, even though it’s not their mother tongue, and no one bats an eyelash.
Here in Quebec, grandma and pops are still asking us: “Pourquoi tu chantes pas en français?”***
(Everyone bursts out in laughter)
Frantz: One last thing. I noticed Félix sang, dealt with the sound guy and touched about every instrument that’s on stage. What’s up with that?
C.S.: (Félix responds) I have the least musician-like qualities of all the guys in this band. I have no formal training in music, and I know that shouldn’t get in the way of making music. I enjoy playing with rhythm.
Tommy, with his formal training, plays melodically. I think it makes for a strong and beautiful contrast in our sound.
Marc and Philippe are the ones with the theoretical knowhow. They can write and read sheet music.
We try to all play with our strengths and switch instruments regularly. In reality, we basically are four bands in one.
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Footnotes (French to English)
*"I don’t know what I think about it, but I’m going all in!"
**French for bickering
***Why don’t you sing in French.
If you want to learn more about “Choses Sauvages”, Check out their Facebook page right here. You can also download all of their EPs for free here on bandcamp.
Frantz-Patrice Séïde Cameau is part of CJLO’s Official Fringe Team covering the sights and sounds from the 2015 St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival.
You can contact Frantz by via email: lobster.mtl@gmail.com
News for July 3rd, 2015
According to CTV news, the situation is common after July 1rst, which is Quebec's moving day.
The agency argues that the influx of abandoned pets is due to wide-spread no-pets clauses.
The SPCA is lobbying to prohibit such clauses, as the Quebec government tabled legislation last month regarding the status of animals as "sensitive beings".
Pan American Health Organization member, Dr. Carissa Etienne, says Cuba's achievement provides inspiration for other countries to do the same -and help eliminate the transmission of such infections.
July 3rd, 2015
Hosted by: Julian McKenzie
Stories by: Patricia Petit-Liang, Emeline Vidal, Catlin Spencer
Produced by: Emeline Vidal
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