the crowd that wants to see me dead

zero and i watched Death of a President the other night, a documentary-style film set in late 2007, detailing the assassination of one George W. Bush.  surprisingly well-handled, the film manages not to take sides on the issue of whether Bush and his policies are right or wrong, but instead focusses on the politics of the aftermath.  the build-up to the assassination itself is somewhat tedious (especially having to listen to Bush’s “staff” wax on about what an intelligent and moral man he is/was) but would be a logical place to start has this been an actual documentary about his death.  however, the filmmakers have kept in mind that this is supposed to fiction – and therefore, entertainment – and spend much of the first part of the film building suspense by teasing us with the idea that Bush could be assassinated any second now…  however, it is not ’til after the shooting that the film really starts to pick up, as we see how the US government tries to deal with the assassination.  priority number one: catch a suspect.  priority number two:  connect him to al Qaeda.  evidence?  make it fit the suspect.  a confession?  sweep it under the rug.

it is a clever film, and the message it sends is not that the President must die, but tries to imagine what would happen if he was assassinated – and it’s a bleak prediction.  the world is not necessarily a better place with Bush dead – Cheney has stepped up as President, the Patriot Act is expanded and people lose more of the freedom they are fighting so hard to protect, and at one stage, it seems another war is imminent.

the film was made by Film Four Productions in the UK, and was screened there on local tv after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 where it won the International Critics Prize.  due to the controversial nature of the film, it suffered distribution problems in some areas (especially the United States), but is now available on dvd.  if you can’t find a copy anywhere, below is a link to a BitTorrent file.  if you’ve never downloaded a torrent file before, click here for some basic instructions.

• torrent:  Death of a President  (from Mininova)

i was a teenage smog

ah, the new year.  a time for reflection, for resolution, for top ten lists…

well, maybe if it wasn’t already nearly February – i think my vacation went on a bit long…

not to worry – as far as top tens go, Shots Ring Out decided to out-do everybody, and compile the top 56 music videos of 2006.  while they may not be the best songs of the past year, they definitely are (some of) the best videos.  the clips are available in different formats depending on your downloading needs, so you have no excuse not to check out the ones you haven’t seen – your New Favourite Band may be lurking in there somewhere.

as for resolutions…  well, i’m not gonna list them, so i can avoid the inevitable embarrassment come 2008 when i realise i haven’t stuck to any of them.  one resolution i will share, with blog as my witness, is that i will write more this year.  i’m the lamest excuse for a writer, ever (well, maybe apart from Poppy Z. Brite – would you like some cheese with your blood?).  anyway, in order to mark this momentous occasion, this blog has undergone yet another name change.  (it may also have something to do with the fact that there are already two blogs titled the bitter pill – i have no idea how google missed them six months ago when i was checking if the name was already being used).  so, welcome to the new and improved sewn to the sky.  i am humbly borrowing the name from Smog’s debut album, a noisy lo-fi affair that (along with Forgotten Foundation) is a poor represtation of the genius that is Smog/(smog)/Bill Callahan.  with his dry humour and gravelly voice over acoustic guitar, he is often compared to the equally genius Leonard Cohen.  and the man is finally playing a concert here next month.  okay, it’s technically (his girlfriend) Joanna Newsom’s gig, but he’s the opening act and will most likely accompany her during her set.  so what better time to try to create some new Smog fans?  over the next few weeks, i’ll be posting some videos and mp3s to try to give you some idea of how dark and beautiful and poetic and funny and heart-wrenchingly depressing this man can be – all in one song, if he so chooses.

to start with, here’s a track that fits a couple of those categories from his 1999 album Knock Knock.  just to clarify, it’s actually the last line from this song that inspired the new blog name – Bill makes a lyrical reference back to his debut album in the track “Teenage Spaceship”.  one of my all-time favourite songs, it’s hard for me to describe it as anything but sublimely beautiful.  Smog manages to capture the loneliness and longing of the awkward teenage years; the feeling that no one understands – or even sees - the ‘real you’…

• mp3:  Smog – Teenage Spaceship

then the clouds will open for me

the last sunset of 2006, over Auckland.  (photo by Adam)

• mp3:  Placebo – Then the Clouds Will Open for Me

we follow mr santa to the end

i wanted to squeeze in another post before this year is over, so, being christmas and all, i thought i’d join the hordes of other mp3 blogs in posting this festive remix of the Knife’s “Reindeer” from their self-titled album (although technically, it was recorded before the album version, so i guess that makes this the original?).  now, why can’t all christmas songs be this cool?  (if you go to the official Knife site, you can download a cd cover in pdf format).

oh, and merry christmas to my loyal reader(s).  ;)

• mp3:  the Knife – Christmas Reindeer

down by the water

that last photo was taken on the way to this beautiful spot - Marokopa Falls, near Waitomo, New Zealand.

• mp3:  PJ Harvey – Down by the Water
• mov video:  PJ Harvey – Down by the Water