Dasavatharam movie trailer

One of the films released in 2008 that I have yet to see. Kamal Haasan is the writer, director and star of the film. He plays 10 roles in the movie including George W. Bush. This movie was such the event in India that Jackie Chan went there for the soundtrack release party.

Abe Vigoda live

Live footage of my favorite record of 2008 Abe Vigoda's Skeletons

Mad Detective trailer

The Hong Kong trailer for my favorite film of 2008.

Hard Boiled Top Ten lists 2008

If you have a top ten list and want more people to read it send it to me and I'll include in the next update.
Hard Boiled will be closed Wednesday Dec 24 at 6pm and closed all day Dec 25 and 26. We will be open Saturday Dec 27th from 12-6pm and that will be the new store hours for Saturdays for the winter of 2009.

Have a happy holiday
Thanks
Mark

Mark's Top Ten movies seen in 2008

1. Mad Detective (Hong Kong) - Johnnie To finally making a crime movie with Lau Ching Wan after 8 years of romantic comedies. Lau is an ex cop banished from the force because of a gift he gave a superior. But he was always able to solve any crime. Several years later the police need help solving a crime, but has Lau drift into madness gone to deep? You'll have to watch the movie. Johnnie To has topped this list last year (Exiled) and in 1999 (The Mission) and I look forward to every movie he makes, including his romantic comedies.
2. Inside (France) A very disturbing French slasher film. More twisted than Takashi Miike's Audition.
3. In Bruges (Ireland) A funny Irish hitman comedy with Colin Farrel and the always excellent Brendan Gleeson.
4. Tazza: The High Rollers (South Korea) Korean gambling movie. Good twists and turns in the plot. I didn't feel sympathy for the lead character but the film won me over.
5. Darwin's Nightmare (Austria) Documentary about the effects of globalization has on the fishing industry in Lake Victoria in Tanzania and everybody who lives there. Truly depressing
6. Warlords (Hong Kong) After Fearless Jet Li declared that he had finished making martial arts movies. Fortunately it was a mistranslated interview. Jet is done making movies about the spirit of martial arts, he is still making movies in which he kicks ass. This is a remake of the Shaw Brothers classic "Blood Brothers". Lots of gritty fight scenes and very little wire work in the kung fu.With Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro.
7. Chocolate (Thailand) New action hero from Thailand and she is directed by Prachya Pinkaew, of Ong Bak and The Protector fame. Lots of bone crunching fights and jaw dropping stunts. The movies credits show the cast and crew visiting injured stuntmen in the hospital.
8. Rec (Spain) Remade this year in America as Quarantine. My favorite zombie movie in the last couple of years. Shot from the point of view of a TV reporter's cameraman, the movie doesn't suffer from shakey camera syndrome and when someone asks for help the camera man actually puts the camera down and helps.
9. Calvert (France/Belgium) A traveling cabaret singer takes the wrong turn one night and ends up in deep in the woods in France. The crazy people he meets would give the hillbillies in Deliverance nightmares.
10. Empress & The Warrior (Hong Kong) My favorite movie experience this year was watching a kung fu movie in Hong Kong with my girlfriend. The movie was a throw back to the wire kung fu films that Hong Kong regularly produced in the early 1990's. It was not a great movie but was the only film on this list that I saw in a theater.

Movies released in 2008 that I have yet to see
Quantum of Solace (UK/US)
Sparrow (Hong Kong) Another Johnnie To film from this year.
Escape From Huang Shi (US/ China) Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat together for the first time since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And it got a Chicago theatrical release, yet somehow I did not see it.
Let The Right One In (Sweden) I hope to see this over the holidays.
Slumdog Millionaire (UK/ India)
Dasavatharam (India) From the star/ director of Kamal Hassan, the genius behind Abhay. In this movie he plays 10 characters including George Bush(?)
Ong Bak 2 (Thailand)

Mark's Top Ten Albums I liked in 2008

1. Abe Vigoda - Skeletons
2. Bon Iver - For Emma
3. Fucked Up - Chemistry Of Common Life
4. Portishead - 3rd
5. Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Primary Colours
6. No Age - Nouns
7. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08
8. Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
9. Times New Viking - Rip It Off
10. Group Inerane - Guitars From Agadez

Matt T.

Top 10 Listening Experiences from 2008...

(in no particular order...)
Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era cont.
Ellen Allien - Sool
Grails - Doomsdayers Holiday
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Valet - Naked Acid
Syclops - I've Got My Eye on You
Torche - Meanderthal
Black Mountain - In the Future
Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull
Spiritualized - Songs in A+E

John H.

1.  Young Widows- "Old Wounds"
2.  Dianogah- "qhnnnl"
3.  Nick Cave and the Bad seeds - "Dig Lazarus Dig"
4. Neptune - "Gong Lake"
5.  Bottomless Pit- "Congress"
6.  Helms Alee - "Night Terror"
7.  Vivian Girls - s/t
8.  Abe Vigoda - "Skeleton"
9.  Sun Kil Moon - "April"
10.  Quatre Tete - "Art of the State"

Bob D.

Favorite Albums of 2008

2562 – Aerial

Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

AU – Verbs

Beem – The Future

Beck – Modern Guilt

Benoit Pioulard – Temper

Black Devil Disco Club – Eight Oh Eight

Bug, The – London Zoo

Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Continued

Eero Johannes – Eero Johannes

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

Flying Lotus - LA

Guilty Simpson – Ode to the Ghetto

GZA – Pro Tools

Haruka Nakamura - Grace

Hercules & Love Affair – Hercules & Love Affair

Madlib the Beat Konducta – WLIB: King of the Wigflip

Matmos – Supreme Balloon

Osbourne – Osbourne

Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue

Portishead – Third

Q-Tip – The Renaissance

Sigur Ros - Su Í Eyrum Vi Spilum Endalaust

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

VA – 14 Tracks: Beyond the Forbidden City

VA – Bipp: French New Wave 1979-1985

VA – Dubstep Allstars Volume 6: Applebim

VA – Soul Messages from Dimona

VA – Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6

VA – Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sound of the Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-79

Best Music Event:

Animal Collective – Pitchfork

Public Enemy – Pitchfork

Extra Golden – Pitchfork

Caribou - Pitchfork

Orchestra Baobab – Pritzker

Stevie Wonder – Grant Park

Sigur Ros – Chicago Theater

The Sea and Cake – Symphony Center

DJ Chef – Bass Goes Boom at Lava

Opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics - Beijing

Mike W.
1.) Scott Tuma - Not For Nobody (CD on Digitalis)
Finally, a new solo album. Wasn't so sure it would happen again and then he surprised everyone with this masterpiece of stretched-out, blurred American music. Very spiritual and heartbreakingly beautiful. Soundtrack for the stairway to Heaven.

2.) Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill (LP on Type)
Perfect mix of clarity and obscurity. I spent many hours this year submersed in this album. Heavy Water gets my vote for song of the year.

3.) Aethenor - Betimes Black Cloudmass (LP on VHF)
The addition of the two drummers is a godsend. Reminds me of that great Organum track that AMM's Eddie Prevost adds drums to on the Sphyx album. Looking forward to more of this.

4.) Xela - In Bocca Al Lupo (LP on Type)
Bleak, sparse and creepin' around in the dank, dark catacombs of the cathedral. Kinda makes me feel icky, I love it.

5.) Thuja - s/t (LP on Important)

The mysteries of the deep woods, very Lynchian from one of the most imaginative collectives of our time.

6.) Fire Room - Broken Music (CD on Atavistic)
Free Jazz meets Free Noise and neither genre drowns out the other. Ken Vandermark on reeds, Paul Nilssen-Love on drums and Lasse Marhaug on electronics. Vandermark cuts himself loose from his Ornette safety net.

7.) Common Eider, King Eider - Figs, Wasps, and Monotremes (CD on Root Strata)

Rob Fisk's (Badgerlore, 7 Year Rabbit, ex-Deerhunter) new solo project. The sound of a frozen landscape; sometimes blissfully serene, sometimes a blustery ice storm.

8.) The Blithe Sons - The Great Orthochromatic Wheel (LP on Family Vineyard)

The Blithe Sons most structured album yet. The influence of Donaldson's Ivytree project spills over into one side of the LP with gorgeous, loose ambient pop songs. The other side is like a rustic Morton Feldman.

9.) Svarte Greiner - Penpals Forever (Cassette on Digitalis)
An outstanding grasp of a personal aesthetic. Not sure if his music is improvised or not. If so, he's got an incredible control over the end result, rather than just the process which makes a lot of improvised music seem cold.

10.) Windy & Carl - Songs for the Broken Hearted (LP on Kranky)
Now that the avant-garde are making shoegaze albums it's nice that this duo made a comeback to show 'em how it's really done. It's all about emotion, heart before head.

11.) The North Sea - Gated Community (CD on Root Strata)
Brad Rose puts away his banjo, picks up the electronics and reveals his dark side. I imagine the apocalypse happening only in Gated Communities.

Hard Boiled Update 12-05-08

It is close to the end of the year so if you have a top ten list for
music, concerts and movies and want to have other people read please send it to me
and I will include it in next week's update.

Pavement - Brighten The Corners Deluxe Double CD If you preordered this release from
the store, the bonus live LP is here as well.

Belle & Sebastian - BBC Sessions 2xCD Limited version with bonus disc.

Lou Reed - Berlin: Live At St Anns 2xLP

Sigur Ros - Med Suo i eyrum vio spilum LP Now on vinyl.

Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me CD

Low - Xmas 45 On Sub Pop.

The Third Man - Clarion Call LP On Ai Records.

EOC - Info Warfare LP On Ai Records.

fm3 - Buddha Machine Mark II Back in stock.

V/a - Shaw Brothers Soundtrack Library Music CD Collection of incidental music
licensed by the Shaw Brothers movie studio in Hong Kong from the DeWolfe recording
studios in England.

Fennesz - Black Sea CD/LP Now on vinyl.

Jacob Kirkegaard - Labyrinthitis CD On Touch.

Xela - In Bocca Al Lupo CD On Type Records.

Sea & Cake - Car Alarm CD

Bachs - Out Of The Bachs LP

Disrupt - Foundation Bit LP On Werk.

Goblin - Fantastic Voyage CD Compilation of prog rock soundtracks for Italian
horror movies from the 1970's.

V/a - African Scream Contest CD Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin and Togo in the 1970's.


I've also gotten in a good number of garage/punk/60's comps in on used vinyl. If you are a fan of the
Back From The Grave series it is worth checking out.

And finally Roscoe Village is having a Winterfest Stroll on Saturday from 5-9pm and Sunday from 1-5pm. Lots of the local stores will have special offers and freebies. Hard Boiled will giveaway a free Christmas LP of your choice with each purchase for all of Saturday and Sunday or until they run out (unlikely as I have a lot of them).

Thanks
Mark

Hard Boiled Update 11-20-08

Some cool items in this week.

fm3 - Buddha Machine Vol. 2 The first version came out in 2005 and now we have the second incarnation of the Buddha Machine. They look like small radios, but the only sounds are 9 musical loops. Turn it on and leave it on and listen to the loop drone and distort as the batteries run down (it takes a long time). The new model has different loops from the first and adds a Pitch Bend that allows you to speed up or slow down the loop. Very fun.

Hush Arbors - s/t CD On Ecstatic Peace

King Midas Sound - Cool Out 12" On Hyperdub.

Sam Taylor-Wood - I'm In Love With A German Film Star 12"
Cover of the Pet Shop Boys. On the German Techno label Kompakt.

Cloud One - Atmosphere Strut 12"

Shindig #7 New issue

Shindig #6 Last issue.

Fennesz - Black Sea CD On Touch. Finally a new Fennesz record.

People Like Us - Phizmiz 45 New Touch 45, part of their limited edition 45 series.

Deadbeat - Roots & Wire CD On Wagonrepair Records.

XLR8R - New issue

Yeti - #6 One of my favorite zines, that comes out once a year if we are lucky. Articles and interviews with Times New Viking, The Clean, Sun City Girls, Luc Sante, Crystal Stilts and more. Comes with a cd with The Clean, TNV, SCGs 20 other artists.

Cotti/ Mr Party - Dem Fi 12"

Chefal & Cluekid - Sub Scoa 12" Dubstep

Vivian Girls - Tell The World 45 New tracks from the band sure to be on many people's top 10 list.

Wilderness - (k)no(w)here LP/ CD

Parts & Labor - Receivers LP

Deerhunter - Microcastles CD With the bonus disc.

V/a Birmingham Sound Vol. 2 Second collection of from the vaults of Neil Hemphill.
Good Southern soul music from the 60's and 70's.

Benoit Pioulard - Temper On Kranky Records.

The Wire - new issue with Antony & the Johnsons on the cover.

V/a - Young Disciples CD The lates Numero Group reissue centering on soul from
East St Louis.


I also have recently gotten in a good number of used copies of recently released celebrity biographys in hard cover.
I imagine the Tony Curtis autobiography would make a good Christmas gift for someone's mother.

Thanks
Mark

Street Kings and The Condemned movie reviews

Street Kings (2008) Directed by David Ayer
For fans of James Ellroy's books, the plot of his original screenplay will be very familiar. There is no mystery as to why someone gets shot in a hold up and Keanu adds to his collection of clueless characters. That said his acting is not bad in the movie. The cast is full of familiar faces, and some of the non-actors take on different than normal roles, i.e. Cedric the Entertainer as a drug dealer. And to his credit I did not recognize John Corbett. Not a bad movie but it is one thing for Ellroy to reuse themes like police corruption, it is another for him to reuse a key scene from earlier works.

The Condemned (1976) Directed by David Chiang
This Shaw Brothers dvd has sat on the shelf waiting to watched for a long time. Now that the election is over and I don't feel the need to watch the news channels as much I can get back to watching movies. The dvd cover for this film has kept it from the top of the pile as I had bought it online thinking it was a kung fu movie and the cover shows David Chiang in modern clothing in a prison and the description was not encouraging.
The movie does have a surprising amount of kung fu and some special effects. In a move likely inspired by Sunny Chiba's Streetfighter we see x-ray renditions of blows, but done in a low budget way. Instead of using actual x-rays the film has clay skeletons against a dark background that snap and crumble as the blows land.
This is not the movie to use to convert people to the ways of the Shaw Brothers studio but it was much more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be.

Hard Boiled Update 11-10-08

Amplifier Machine - Her CD On 12K.

V/a - Delta Dandies CD Collection of big bands from Nigeria from the 1940's and 50's.

Flaherty/ Nance/ Moore - s/t CD New noise cd from Thurston Moore and friends.

Luke Vibert / Simmonds - Rodulate 3xLP On Rephlex.

Xela/ North Sea - Elect Vol. 1 LP Split LP limited to 300 copies.

Girl Talk - Feed The Animals CD I am almost sold out of this and so let me know if you want one
as they are sold out from the distributor.

La Dusseldorf - s/t CD One third of Neu, finally available domestically.

Stop Smiling #37 - The DC issue with George Pelecanos or Slim Charles from the Wire on the cover.

Bixobal #5 - Interviews and articles about rare psych, noise and punk.

Boduf Songs - How Shadows CD On Kranky.

Mountains - s/t CD Reissued from 2006

Mountains - Sewn CD

Samiyam - Return 12" On Hyperdub.

V/a - Love Peace Poetry Turkish Psych LP Back in stock.

Forsaken - Last Saloon 12" Dubstep.

Thanks
Mark

Hard Boiled Update 10-10-08

Dead C - Secret Earth CD New disc, just in time for their rare US tour. Noise
rock from New Zealand.

Black Time - Double Negative CD On In The Red Records.

Deerhunter - Never Had A Chance 45 New single on Kranky Records.
Happy 15th birthday Kranky Records.

DJ/Rupture - Uproot CD DJ/Rupture hasn't made a mix release in several years.
They are always interesting blend of beats from around the world, dub, hip hop and
experimental music.

Dr Dooom - 2 CD New Kool Keith, features the video for the death of Dr Octagon.

Glass Candy - Beatbox LP+7 New LP with bonus 45

Absentee - Victory Shorts CD On Memphis Industries, the UK home of the Go-Team.

Hatchback - Colors Of The Sun CD New release on Lo Records.

Eero Johannes - s/t CD New genre of dance music. Squee. On Planet Mu.

Little Claw - Race To The Bottom 45 Very limited 45 on Siltbreeze.

Of Montreal - Id Engager 12" Very limited. Remixed by Diplo. On Mad Decent.

Razorcake - new issue of punk zine.

Sic Alps - U.s. Ez CD On Siltbreeze.

Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends CD Member of Black Moth Super Rainbow. Rock music
on Anticon. Features Aesop Rock.

V/a - Life Is A Problem But Where There Is Life, There is Hope LP Very cool vinyl only
comp of rare Blues and Gospel on Mississippi Records.

V/a - I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore LP Very cool vinyl only
comp of rare Blues and Gospel on Mississippi Records.

V/a - Notwave CD New DFA compilation of rare tracks from the NYC No Wave
scene of the late 1970's/ early 1980's/ Lots of tracks that I've yet to hear but am looking
forward to.

Vivian Girls - s/t CD Latest garage rock/diy post punk group on In The Red Records.
Favorably review on Pitchfork.

Wire - Object 47 CD Wire's 47th release.

Castanets - City Of Refuge CD Features Sufjan Stevens and Jana Hunter.

Bishop Allen - Broken String CD Feature in the movie "Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist".

Antony & The Johnsons - Another World CDEP/12" Preview of his new album.

Catfish Haven - Devastator CD/LP Local country rock jams on Secretly Canadian.

Woven Hand - Ten Stones CD From 16 Horsepower.

Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday CD

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Town Topic CD

Deerhoof - Offend Maggie CD/LP

Lambchop - OH CD First cd in 5 years. Still very good.

Crystal Antlers - CDEP New band signed to Touch & Go.

Hard Boiled Update 10-7-08

Some cool stuff in at the store.
Also Matador is doing a new preorder bonus release for the Pavement reissue of
"Brighten The Corners". Details at the end of the email.

Fuck Buttons - Colours 12" Andrew Weatherhall supplies a remix of the title track.

Irma Thomas - Irma Sings LP Classic New Orleans soul, reissued on a new sub label
of Mississippi Records.


Group Inerane - Guitars CD Finally a CD reissue of the previously vinyl only release on
Sublime Frequencies. Tuareg Rock & Roll psych.

Wire #296 New issue with the latest Wire tapper cd sampler.

V/a - Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump CD Yet another Afrobeat compilation, and just as
good as the others that I carry.

Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling CD+DVD/LP The cd is the limited edition with
the bonus dvd of videos and short films.

Rabid Rabbit - 12" Local metal group, ex Dishes and Camero Rouge. Limited to
250 hand made covers. One sided vinyl.

Brightblack Morning Light - Motion To Rejoin CD/LP LP now in stock.

Fucked Up - Chemistry Of Common Life CD Vinyl delayed.

Jay Reatard - Matador Singles CD Vinyl out of stock but should be back soon.

Department Of Eagles - In Ear Park CD Members of Grizzly Bear.

Jennifer O'Connor & Dump - I Was So Wrong 45 Part of a very limited series of 45s
that features Jennifer O'Connor and friends. Dump is James McNew from Yo La Tengo.


Pavement - Brighten The Corners Deluxe reissue details.

If you send me an email saying that you want to buy the Brighten The Corners Double Cd reissue I will forward it to Matador and then you will get on the day of release (November 18th) a bonus VINYL LP of a previously unreleased live show, a poster and two bonus tracks. Prior to the day of release you will also get
Oct 10 - the ability to stream the cd
Oct 15 - the first bonus track as a download
Nov 4 - the second bonus track as a download.

Matador will only use the email for this promotion and you will not get any spam.

Thanks
Mark