VOTE FOR THE MOVIES! (Please post)

Help The Movies. The band were just nominated for an LA music poll in The Deli.

It literally takes about 20 seconds:

You don't have to give any personal info. Just click in the little bubble next to "The Movies".

http://www. thedelimagazine. com/la/vote. php

Looks like you can only vote once per computer. Please go out and buy as many computers as possible so you cast a lot of votes.



Thanks!

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And yet, another (from webinfront.net)

http://webinfront.net/?p=512

And then, The Movies. It's hard not to swoon for a band when the frontman brings out a boombox and blares Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" for a thoroughly charmed audience; it's even harder when the band crossbreeds and hotwires the best elements of '80s postpunk into something as new and ear-seducing as songs like the synth-cracked rush of "Missed Opportunities" or the steamroller punch of "If I Had the Cash."

Credit needs to be given to singer Timothy James, a wild-eyed frontman whose Chesired smirk would routinely shift into a snarl on songs like "Get Your Macho Out" as he would explode away from the mic, hurling and pirouetting himself across the stage with an electric abandon—the Movies' music, in the wrong hands, could easily sink into morose posturing (I'm looking at you, Editors); however, when spun between James' half-mad baritone and rolled within the slingshot rock generated by the rest of the band, it becomes as thrilling, emotive, and entertaining as any band you're likely to see. Besides, how can you not like a band that marries the bossa nova sleaze of the near-perfect "When I Was in Nam" to a video like this?

Currently listening : In Your Eyes By Peter Gabriel

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Another review of last night’s show + Videos: The Echo

From Classical Geek Theatre:

Want to know the most common way for me to lose someone's respect? (Aside from writing a blog, of course) When the topic of favorite LA bands comes up, somebody names The Movies, and I sheepishly respond "Don't kill me, but... ah... I don't get it."

That's changed last night. I relent and repent! I get it now! Stop giving me that look!

When I saw The Movies at The Viper Room, I scarcely cared for them. I think in part was because I wasn't familiar with their recorded work yet. You see, The Movies are about inclusiveness. Every lyric, every hook, and every move on stage is done as if to say "It's okay, you can be this person too". Their music is a fruit salad of 80's staples and touchstones, lovingly crafted to play to their fan's memories of youth, without a lick of shame and with a bushel of pride. (Their singer started the set by imitating the famous jukebox scene from Say Anything, for cryin' out loud.) Knowing the songs really helps one enjoy the show because you can't come to the party if you don't bring your own booze.

Lead singer Tim James was a beast of a front-man last night. If I'd had a better camera that never stopped taking pictures of him, I could make an all-encompassing diagram displaying every conceivable on-stage dance move known to rock. He should write a book on stage shenanigans. Rock jumps, side-kicks, twists, shimmies and thrusts - Tim James does it all. He signs set lists and gives them to fans! Balls. I am really curious to see what his solo set is like when he plays our show on July 8th.

(Also of note, James gave a shout-out to Matthew Teardrop of Manhattan Murder Mystery, calling them one of the best bands in LA. Funny how many people around Echo Park / Silverlake have respect for that band.)

The Movies' instrumentation is also of note. "Subtly infectious" is the two-word impression. Except for bassist Jessica Gelt. Nothing subtle about her.

I thought "Get Your Macho Out" and "Missed Opportunities" were their strongest songs live. "Creation Lake" was absent from the set... I assume the band wanted to focus on the upbeat songs considering the presenters for the evening.

The Movies also premiered their music video for "When I Was In Nam," directed by Simon Cardoza. It featured the band in army regalia stomping around cornfields. (Where'd they find cornfields in California?!) Technical problems made it a little tough to see, so I can't offer much of a critical opinion... I wish it could have been shot in 24p though. From what I could tell, the video was pretty hilarious.

..

VIDEOS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VqT8ey521g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1SSBkftV1k

www.classicalgeektheatre.com

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Review of Hell Ya! Show @ The Echo 6/26
Category: Music

Thanks to everyone who came out last night for the rock. Thanks especially to The Voyeurs, Pizza!, The Savages and The Mai Shi. Here's a review of the show from Loudvine.com:

See full review: http://loudvine.com/blog/?p=16

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The third and final band was The Movies. All I am going to say, is this: WHY WAS THERE NOT A SUIT in the audience trying to sign these guys? Seriously. I would have signed them just for the fact they have a girl bassist. Then their set started and this was the best night at the movies I have had in years. This band is unreal, talented and should be blowing up right now.

The set began with the leader singer walking out onto the stage with a boom box blasting Peter Gabriel and while this was a nice touch, the audience was hear for one reason and it was clear, to listen to The Movies. The Movies jumped right into their set, and I was hooked, already logging onto Loudvine.com to see when their next show was.

They went on to do "Rock in the Slingshot." And I saw the lead singer do Bart Conner-like moves on stage; I was just digging watching the crowd being so into this band. The band rocked the audience and they rocked my world tonight. And if you ever need any other proof of the power of The Movies, they played "Missed Opportunities," and let met just say this; this song is a fucking anthem on living life to the fullest. I did not want this band to stop playing.

All I can say is this. To the Suits out there, sign these guys. Secondly to the music fans out there go see The Movies. I wish all the Friday afternoon matinees and bad date movies I have been on in my life had moved me as much these movies.

BTW, Sorry about the quality of the videos, my dig cam crapped out.

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Web In Front review of "Based on a True Story"

New Music Preview: The Movies - "When I Was in Nam" / "Get Your Macho Out"

Last weekend, Web in Front got its greedy, greedy mitts on the new, as-yet unreleased LP by the Movies, Based on a True Story. And we. Can't. Stop. Listening.

A smirking, synth-baked howl of churning, slow-motion melodicism working in a sinuous grind against sideways lyrics and wild shards of glistening postpunk, Story manages to capture heat of the Movies' frenetically off-kilter live show, which we described earlier this week as "a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original…their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance [of songs like] the melodic, synth-stung 'Get Your Macho Out' [and] 'When I Was in Nam''s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk."

The two tracks mentioned above (along with near-perfect "Missed Opportunities" and "Tired of Being Superstitious") have been repeatedly playing in a closed-circuit, collapsed-synapse loop on our internal Wurlitzer; we've decided to infect you as well–listen once to the sway of "Get Your Macho Out" or the the ridiculously catchy crowd favorite, "When I Was in Nam," and they'll become the twin towers of your daydream soundtrack for weeks.

 The Movies - "When I Was in Nam": Hide Player | Play in Popup

 The Movies - "Get Your Macho Out": Hide Player | Play in Popup

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Review of the Spaceland show w/ Parson Red Heads show

http://webinfront.net/?p=251

the Movies were, more than anything celebrating being the Movies—a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original.

The Movies had another reason to celebrate—their unreleased next album, copies of which were hurled into the crowd by frontman Timothy James, is, quite simply, ludicrously good (it also features two of WiF's favorite Movies tracks, "Missed Opportunites" and "When I Was in Nam"). Along with the Airborne Toxic Event's debut, it's been at the top of our most anticipated releases of 2008 list, and it did not disappoint (keep an eye out for the review).

Their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance, as James whirled around the stage in a wild-eyed fever between bassist Jessica Gelt's sinewy, rhythmic sway and the ambient wash of keyboardist Brian Cleary, demanding that audience members kiss to win copies of the new LP, furiously running in place, and riding the mic stand—once again proving that he is one of the funniest and most dynamic singers in the L.A. music scene (the man can croon, too). The Movies' show spun between two poles: songs like the melodic, synth-stung "Get Your Macho Out" and the slow-motion whirlpool of "Creation Lake" were a down-tempo counterpoint to the warped snarl of "Autograph" and the glistening stutter-cool of "If I Had the Cash," with the reeling keyboard intro and propulsive, howled choruses of "Missed Opportunities" unifying both ends of the band's spectrum before falling into "When I Was in Nam"'s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk.

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VIDEO: The Movies @ Sunset Junction

Live at Sunset Junction Street Fest.  2007

Missed Opportunities: http://youtube.com/watch?v=U6JKs-Cjm04

Thanks to... whoever filmed it.

3:36 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

New Movies interview

Radio Free Silverlake:

http://radiofreesilverlake.blogspot.com/2006/05/mini-interview-movies.html

Currently listening : A South Bronx Story By ESG Release date: 25 May, 2000

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Review of 3/27 show at The Echo

From autopiamusic.com

http://autopia.typepad.com/autopiamusic/2006/03/index.html

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Reviews of the records

REVIEWS:

A review of The Movies - American Oil (Houston Party Records)

http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewid=5152

In December 2003, I reviewed an astonishing post-punk album, cleverly titled In One Era Out the Other, by a Bostonian/Los Angelino quartet named The Movies. I had never heard of the band before, but I became an ecstatic fan in under 30 minutes. That’s how long The Movies’ flawless album of anglo-influenced post-punk mini-epics ran. Although released in Europe in 2002, In One Era Out the Other first hit U.S. shores on domestic release near the end of 2003. I have waited eagerly for a second album by this terrific group, and I finally found it on Spanish import at Ha’Ozen Ha’Shlishit (The Third Ear), Israel’s most famous indie record store, on trendy Sheinkin Street in Tel Aviv.

American Oil didn’t capture me instantly like In One Era Out the Other, but after a few listens, it won me over, and I enjoy this album more with every listen. American Oil is a louder, more urgent approach to post-punk than The Movies’ debut album, and the vocals here are more dominant. The first track, “Rock in the Slingshot,” opens with a surprising combination of swirling keyboards and heavy beats. Lead singer Timothy James sounds even more British on this album than on the band’s first release, and his repeated chorus of “We put the rock in the slingshot / Rock in the slingshot” fuses anger with determination.

“North Star” combines the aggressive tone of “Rock in the Slingshot” with spacey bleeps that imply The Movies may have spent some time listening to Air’s Moon Safari. There is also a hint of Wire’s influence in “North Star.” Brian Cleary’s organ lines on “Peck the Chick” soften the band’s harsher sound, and James sings more dynamically. The similarities to Echo & the Bunnymen, which were present throughout In One Era Out the Other, continue here, especially on the track named after the band’s lead singer. Yet, I cannot overstate how fresh and unique The Movies’ compositional style is; the band exposes its influences but never sounds derivative.

The album’s title track, a slow, lilting guitar masterpiece, carries vivid visual imagery with it, due in large part to the synthesized waves of sound in the background and the amusing lyrics: “I’ve been waiting to say this for so long / I struck American oil / My car’s electric but I can’t start it.” The most obscure piece on American Oil is “Ed (I Can’t Find Those Lyrics).” As a former Green Card holder, I have to smile when James educates listeners with “Oh my Green Card is pink / And my passport is blue” between wild, screeching keyboards and guitar feedback. The least-inspired track on the album is the repetitive, simple “How I Learned to Drive.”

On the other hand, “The Man with Two Hats” is the album’s most moving creation. Interpreted by James in a contemplative manner, the song appears remarkably like some of Kevin Wright’s work on his exquisite English pop/folk album, Looking for Mr. Wright, which he recorded under the name Always. The Movies’ rhythm section – Jessica Gelt on bass and Stevie Treichel on drums – is especially effective in setting the mood on “The Man with Two Hats.”

The album’s other outstanding track is the clever and sad “If I Had the Cash.” Treichel’s overwhelming beats and Gelt’s bass lines again realize the emotional scope, as Cleary follows their lead with brooding, restrained keyboards and James sings: “I’m dollars in debt / If I had the cash / I’d pay my friends back / If I had the cash / I’m dollars in debt / If I had the cash / I’d cut my losses / If I had the cash / I’d buy a diamond / Just to scratch my ass / A Lamborghini / Just so I could crash.”

The song that closes American Oil, “Dougie,” is structured somewhat like “Peck the Chick” but sounds more like a plea whereas the former is a directive. “Dougie” combines many of the best instrumental, lyrical, and vocal elements of the other nine tracks on American Oil and leaves listeners eager to hear where The Movies will head on their next release.

 - Sahar Oz, 2/16/2005

A REVIEW OF THE MOVIES - In One Era Out The Other

http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=10752032663861

There are two kinds of songs on this album -- the pretty midtempo ones and the spastic, post-punk-inflected ones. The Movies pull off both with equal conviction, and the result is not awkward and lopsided but charming, unpredictable and bordering on perfection. Guitarist and primary vocalist Timothy James's previous band, The Vehicle Birth, dealt in skewed math-rockisms; The Movies, on the other hand, distill a roster of influences ranging from Magnetic Fields to The Wake and Joy Division, resulting in impeccably tasteful, painterly mini-masterpieces. If that sounds too dry, I've misled you -- this foursome is fun. Keyboardist Brian Cleary pours swirls of color into songs like "Midnight Bloody Murder", which dodges tepidity thanks to his oscillating brushstrokes. He builds a wall of heavy synth and wave-like effects on "Truth Knocking", and dusts "Secretariat" with flakes of keyboard ephemera. It's a gentle, gorgeous tune, as good as the Field Mice's best, with James's voice at its deepest, most Ian Curtis-like pitch.
The Movies let loose on the awesome "Don't Steal My Licks", darting from slices of broken guitar in the verse to a wildly catchy refrain. Here James is terse, repeating four lines: "went to the store / I bought it / you can't steal a giveaway / don't steal my licks". His hyper-animated delivery and the band's fervency build in intensity as the song progresses; you'll wish that it lasted longer than a paltry two minutes.

It's a testament to the band's versatility that the slow songs are as compelling as the faster ones. "Creation Lake" sounds very much like the album's other slow jams, but James and bassist/co-vocalist Jessica Gelt set it apart with a fragile melody (again, but a different fragile melody this time) and poignantly wistful lyrics ("there're 24 parts in a day that divide me from you").

In One Era Out the Other borrows from some currently trendy musical touchstones, but it is so singular, and executed with such restrained grace, that it never approaches crass co-option. It might never become the sleeper hit that it could be, but it's definitely the kind of record that you can accidentally fall in love with.

-- Justin Stewart

ANOTHER REVIEW OF "IN ONE ERA"

http://www.adequacy.net/reviews/m/movies.shtml

Friday night, and I’m listening to new long players by bands I’ve never encountered. Friday night in a snowy, cold Rochester of mid-December, and then I hear the keyboard introduction to The Movies’ wittily titled In One Era Out the Other – woah! Rochester is still snowy, still freezing, but the music enveloping my room courtesy of Brian Cleary’s keys and Timothy James’ voice on “Right Equipment” warms the heart and mind. With Jessica Gelt and Stevie Treichel supporting the effort on bass/maraca and drums, respectively, The Movies’ opening track on their superb debut album is just the first of 10 glorious post-punk pieces that are relevant, thrilling, and intricate.

The Movies’ lyrics are surreal and ambitious: “If I had the right equipment / I could walk up a wall / I wouldn’t fall / If I had the right equipment / I could take a seat and stand / Fix the feeling man.” James’ high notes and slow guitar fill your head with nostalgia; what you remember is your business. For me, it’s dusk in Penn State dorms with fellow international mates. Memories of snowy central Pennsylvanian nights only sharpen with the second track, “Secretariat.” James sings more deeply with lower tones: “It’s snowing outside again / You think more when you’re thinking.” The Movies slow their deliberate approach even more for “Creation Lake,” and James’ vocals continue to impress, never strained, consistently setting the mood. Cleary’s keyboards emphasize the sharpest line of the song, “There’re 24 parts in a day that divide me from you.”

The band then changes the pace for “Scary Footsteps,” recalling The Wake’s best moments. Treichel and Gelt are particularly effective on “Scary Footsteps,” and James continues to sing quirky lines like “Was that the moon or a streetlight? / When you live life it’s so lifelike.” The early 80s British feel continues with “Don’t Steal My Licks,” a rare up-tempo track with a punch. James and his mates are based in Los Angeles, but his accent often sounds like he’s from the heart of post-punk, across the Atlantic. “Truth Knocking” is spooky and fascinating, the kind of stuff Robert Smith used to write without a sweat. The Movies are not derivative, but they definitely run with ideas influenced at least somewhat by the 80s' best modern rockers. With more sophisticated drumming and keyboard swirls that conjure up thrilling cinema, James sings, “Said she was a forest and her trees grew over me,” and Gelt contributes sensual backup vocals.

Cutting, persistent keyboards and in-your-face bass lines complement James’ tough singing on “Autograph.” You would be forgiven for mistaking The Movies for Liverpudlians during Thatcher’s early years. There’s definitely an Echo & the Bunnymen sense here. “Pass the Music” is tranquil and atmospheric, definitely late-night fare for a small crowd of good friends and comfortable couches in dim lights. “Midnight Bloody Murder” is notable for its quivering guitars and icy keyboards. The Movies close their outstanding album with the drama that is “A Better Life.” Heavier drumming and bass dominate the first half of the song, while Cleary’s keyboards penetrate your ears with ponderous ambience for the last two minutes. It’s a fitting conclusion to a stylistically diverse and brilliant album, a record of high quality without a weak track. In One Era Out the Other is a strong debut, filled with two- and three-minute epics that suck you in with the first note. The Movies prove that post-punk is alive and well, and they do so with the genre’s best offering in years.

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