Category Archives: foreplay

foreplay, film: some days are better than others

Some Days Are Better Than Others, written and directed by Matt McCormick. Release date TBA.

Some Days are Better Than Others is Matt McCormick’s poetic, character-driven debut feature-length film that asks why the good times slip by so fast while the difficult times seem so sticky. The film explores ideas of abundance, emptiness, human connection and abandonment while observing an interweaving web of awkward characters who maintain hope by inventing their own forms of communication and self-fulfillment. Katrina (Carrie Brownstein) is a twenty-something reality TV enthusiast, video diarist and animal shelter worker whose world falls apart when she finds that those important to her are often not what she hopes they would be. Eli (James Mercer) is a mid-30s slacker who could offer a thoroughly researched social critique explaining all the reasons why he shouldn’t get a job; his experiences temping only reinforce his assertions.  Camille (Renee Roman Nose) is a socially handicapped thrift store attendant who spends her days sorting through the donated discards of other people’s lives, and Otis (David Wodehouse) is an 84-year-old eccentric filmmaker and inventor who strives to be recognized for his work.

Some Days are Better Than Others is about the nuances of communication, the desperation of heartbreak, and the struggle to maintain hope through the passing of time.  It’s a sad valentine to the forgotten discards of a throwaway society, and a story about knowing when to hold on, and when to let go.

supergroup “mof’kers” & a mixtape for you.

New folk powerhouse, Monsters of Folk, consist of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band), M. Ward (M. Ward, She & Him), Jim James aka Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket) and producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, The Go-Getter soundtrack, etc.).  In anticipation for their new self-titled debut, which is streaming at their myspace currently, I’ve created a little mixtape of each of their past work leading up to this.  I’ve given a quick first listen of the new album. It’s more cohesive than expected from such individualistic songwriters collaborating, but I have yet to conclude anything.  It comes out September 22.  Download my mix here.

Pre-MOF Mixtape Tracklist:
1.  The Difference in the Shades – Letting Off the Happiness – Bright Eyes
2.  Stars of Leo – Hold Time – M. Ward
3.  Classic Cars – Cassadaga – Bright Eyes
4.  Evil Urges – Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket
5.  Never Had Nobody Like You (feat. Zooey Deschanel) – Hold Time – M. Ward
6.  Highly Suspicious – Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket
7.  Roosevelt Room – Outer South – Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
8.  Bowl Of Oranges – Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ears to the Ground – Bright Eyes
9.  Chinese Translation – Post-War – M. Ward
10.  You Really Gotta Hold On Me – Volume One – She & Him
11.  Thank You Too! – Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket
12. Easy/Lucky/Free – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn – Bright Eyes

foreplay: fuck buttons/tarot sport/10.20

Besides the next Atlas Sound album, Fuck Buttons’ Tarot Sport is another full length that I’m really excited about. It releases 10/20 and ‘Surf Solar’ is the first single.