Bon Iver or Let's Retire to the Countryside and Make Some Music

I have been talking about this guy the whole year: how he suffered countless life changing events that made him retire into the mountains of Maine to seek self recovery, how he only communicated with one person during his time in the cabin and perhaps most importantly how isolation, distress and mental suffocation gave birth to one of the most beautiful albums I have heard in a long time: For Emma, Forever Ago.
It's all there: it's beautiful imperfections (hisses, creaks, hollow echoes of sound), it's melancholic comfort, it's obscure optimism. Bon Iver (a variation of the french expression for "good winter") is the product of Justin Vernon a terrific musician formally of DeYamur Edison. Many of the people that I've recommended Bon Iver to, have been looping the song below in their ipods or their morning drive, I recommend you purchase the entire album ($9.99 on Itunes and even cheaper if you buy on LaLa, which is my favorite online musical store for independent music), pick a long and cool afternoon, settle quietly in your favorite place of comfort and find out for yourself why every major music critic was all over Bon Iver this year.

A Fox on a Journey

In one of it’s key scenes, the main character in Wes Anderson’s first stop animation film “Fantastic Mr. Fox” suddenly asks his accomplice Possum friend, “Why a fox? I mean, why am I a fox and not a horse”. His possum friend, not a very bright fellow carelessly ignores the question, but Mr. Fox, the risqué hero of this engaging film, is entrenched in his own existential identity crisis throughout this wonderful and meticulous film about a family of Foxes, their community and the efforts of three farmers to get rid of all of them.
The film is an adaption of a children’s book by Roald Dahl and though the puppets that abound this tale could easily be found in any educational video for toddlers, this is a serious story about family, friendship and the search of one’s self.
That the story weighs heavily on questions of morality and the sometimes not-so-ethical decisions taken by its protagonist only provides the film with the serious gravity that its animated realm may disguise. Underneath the fur and shinny eyes of these animated actors there is an oeuvre of real life dilemmas that anyone who has ever felt a desire to find out who they are and what they are here for will immediately identify with.
After escaping a near death experience with his pregnant wife, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) decides that the way to go for the safety of his family is to retire from a career of chicken stealing and settle into a comfortable life as a newspaper columnist. His new life is dictated by his semi-famous published articles, (an item of uneasy insecurity since he is not convinced that many people actually read his column), a loving and artistic wife (Meryl Street) who’s body of work is to paint dazzling landscapes often ridden by thunderstorms, and a moody-angst ridden teenage son (Jason Schwartzman) constantly longing for his father’s approval.



After discussing his situation with his supporting wife (a brilliant dialogue where he talks about his aging life; he is 7 fox years old and nearing the end of his life) and considering the possibility of relocating somewhere more appropriate for his intended way of life (“I feel poor”, he tells his wife), Mr. Fox decides to move his family to a somewhat more affluent household against the advice of his attorney (Bill Murray) who is afraid that Mr. Fox will fall victim to three vicious farmers who will be his new neighbors. Yet where others see danger, Mr. Fox sees opportunity and he soon finds his way back to his old Foxy ways. What follows next is an uplifting, comic and witty examination of belonging to a family and consequently to a community while finding or perhaps not losing a part of one’s self in the process. Family dynamics are put to the test when Mr. Fox’s nephew, a precocious and naturally gifted teenager by the name of Kristofferson, moves in with the family, ensuing an ongoing competition for the attention of Mr. Fox by his teenage son and the new visitor.
As is the case with all children’s tale, the interaction between Mr. Fox and his farmer assailants is met with the levity that would make a children’s fable both entertaining and sufficiently clear for a child to understand, however, Anderson (The Royal Tennenbaums, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Sizzou) packages such minute and dazzling details in the film, that such idiosyncrasies lend the film the appropriate gravitas that other films with human actors can only dream of.
Perhaps it is the combination of a fantasy animated world that disguise certain physical marks in the characters that make it somewhat more real when you see it coming from a puppet, or perhaps it is the tone of a completely fantastic world (the yellow tones that decorate the complete set are dazzling, hypnotizing and mood setting) which provides the story with the necessary realism to make you forget that your watching an animated feature.
No U Turns Allowed recommends Fantastic Mr. Fox as a must see film.

What The Hell Just Happened?!? Post Thanksgiving Edition

After a delicious and coma inducing Thanksgiving dinner I am back at No U Turns thinking mostly about Black Friday, not because I'm ready to make those long lines to buy a laptop at $177 (true advertisement at Best Buy) but rather because it seems that Black Friday is the beginning of the holiday season, the season of giving. Following in the spirit and appropriately so, NUTA (that's our acronym people, c'mon) is proud to unveil Fridays as "What The Hell Just Happened?" day, a recap of the week's highlights on music, movies, arts, books and anything else that caught our attention, it's kind of our weekly day of giving back.

It was a week of nice surprises everywhere:

The New York Times gave us it's annual and anticipated Fall Movies Special, which includes a list of break out performances to expect in what is considered Oscar season. Also, here is a review of Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" starring the beautiful Penelope Cruz who has become Almodovar's preferred muse, a choice that NUTA completely agrees with. We've also included a review of the highly rated "Me and Orson Welles" a story of the brilliant director and the consequences of becoming charmed by art.

We are also looking forward to watching Wes Anderson's new anti-fable 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox" starring George Clooney and Meryl Streep. Don't let the Sesame Street antic fool you, this is not a movie for children (I least I hope it's not).



NUTA favorite KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic had some interesting guests these past weeks. The soul infused Fitz and The Tantrums is jumpy, catchy and a must listen. If your into something more Jazz(y) listen to Orgone a Los Angeles entourage of awesome musicians ( they remind me a bit of another multiple member great band from Miami, The Spam Allstars). And last but not least the excellent Colombian duo Bomba Stereo is a mix of cool rock, techno, hip hop and cumbia. Please remember to make a donation to KCRW to keep programs like Morning Becomes Eclectic up and running.



Pitchfork published a great article about the past decade in Indie, an examination of what exactly the word means, how it's metamorphosed into a cultural phenomenom and become the defining concept of a generation. The usual culprits are included: Interpol, The Shins, Death Cab, Arcade Fire, as well as some established figures of neo-hipster culture, Zooey Deschanel, Jason Schwartzman, Diablo Cody and her infinitely quirky film Juno.

Over at NPR we found this interesting list of the years best cookbooks. Fresh Air had an interview with director Judd Apatow and the alchemy of "Funny People". Listen to it here.

The pop culture story of the week was Adam Lambert's overt performance at Sunday's American Music Awards and while the storm has receded about whether it was appropriate for him to kiss another man on national television (as well as simulating oral sex and walking his dancers around on a leash) many had their say on the issue, from those that think that it was inappropriate and tasteless, to those that say that there is a double standard between what women performers (think Madonna kissing Britney Spears at the VMA's a few years back) and Hip Hop stars have been doing for years: capitalizing on sex and violence as a vehicle to sell records. And while Lambert's display may have pushed the envelop of what is "acceptable decency" in American society here at NUTA we are 100% for freedom of expression and equanimity when it comes to art.



Thats it for now and remember: make the best of each road taken because in life there are No U Turns Allowed.

Emily Wells or why you should learn to play the ukelele

This morning during my commute to work, (a gloomy but incredibly tranquil Wednesday morning) I was listening to Thao Gnguyen perform on KCRW's Morning Becomes Electic and on the related videos that YouTube provided me with I found this incredible gem of a singer. Her name is Emily Wells, a 26 year old musician from Los Angeles who performs a mix of folk, jazz and hip-hop fusion which along with her incredible voice creates what I can classify as "quirky/melodic/gloomy music to feel happy". I immediately sent the YouTube video to my music loving friends and the response was nothing short than I expected: they loved it. Some people compared her to Sia Furler the wonderful chanteuse from Australia, I wouldn't go that far geographically speaking and for those of you who have heard of our local folk prodigy Rachel Goodrich, you will love what Emily does with a few instruments, a haunting loop and her vocal range. I've included a review from a website I found called iheartdaily.com. Enough chattering, here is Emily performing the right song for a gloomy and rainy Miami day, enjoy:




http://www.iheartdaily.com/2009/06/emily-wells-hearts.html