A Commonplace Book

There were a lot of highlights at Daft Punk’s Keyspan Park show in August. It might be a touch dramatic to describe that night as a gesamtkunstwerk but the robotic duo definitely brought a show that was more than the sum of its parts. One of my favorite moments was their new remix of “Harder Better Faster Stronger”. It was tinged with a more acid synth line and set off by a more trancey bass line. Combined with some well-placed samples from “Around The World” it absolutely tore the roof off. (Granted, there was no roof to begin with, but I think my point is clear.)

Although the artists allowed anyone to come and film the concert, it was insinuated after the tour that there would be no concert DVD. That was a bit of a letdown, but Daft Punk has come through with the next best thing, a live concert album. Right now the lead single, that very remix of “Harder Better Faster Stronger” I was so enamored with, is only available on the French iTunes here. But for people on the cheap, the good folks at Discobelle have it up to check out here: “Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)”. The usual music blog disclaimers apply.

(Photo courtesy of Cobrasnatch.)

On October 20th, 2007, the zombie hordes will storm the streets of Manhattan, and anyone can join the undead army.

Full details and sign-up for the email list are at www.zombiecon.com

This past Tuesday night I seriously underestimated at least one of two things. First? The number of die-hard Wes Anderson Fans in New York. Second? New York City’s unemployment rate. Perhaps? Both.

Fox Searchlight organized a screening for Hotel Chevalier, a short film being billed as a prologue to Mr. Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited, at the Apple store in SoHo. I arrived at the corner of Prince Street and Greene Street at 7 PM, two hours before the given start time of 9 PM. I was obviously a minimum of 3 to 4 hours too late, though, because the line was already about 250 people deep. And thats not including all those who, like me, saw the line and immediately walked off in search of food.

(This is not an exaggeration. Pull the area up on Google Maps, and just imagine the line starting on Prince Street, stretching north up Greene Street, and ending within spitting distance of Houston. I assume it got worse in the remaining two hours before the event.)

Given the average age of the line, I can’t fault anyone who waited in it. Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Natalie Portman all were scheduled to be present for the screening. If I was still in college (like most of the NYU students whom I’m implying probably comprised the line), I’d probably have cut a class and brought a book too.

Still. A 5 to 6 hour wait for a 13 minute movie? Moreover, it’s a 13 minute movie which would be available on the internet and for free within 24 hours. It’s a bit tough to find on iTunes, but the link here will take you right to it.