Author Archives: kellybourdet

The combination of Werner Herzog directing and David Lynch producing would have compelled me to see almost any film. The addition of an incredible cast (Willem Defoe, Grace Zabriskie, Chloe Sevigny, Udo Kier and Michael Shannon) makes this movie impossible to resist.

Herzog’s interest in tales of obsession led him to this film, a true crime story of a young man, Brad McCullum, who stabs his mother to death with a sword while rehearsing for a Sophocles play in which a son murders his mother. Shannon is exceptional in portraying the son’s decent into obsession, confusion and, finally, murder. His portrayal of Brad McCullum’s delusional downward spiral isn’t too heavy-handed and is, at times, even likable.

The always-incredible Grace Zabriskie plays Brad’s ill-fated mother, complete with all the bizarre facial expressions that we’ve come to expect from her. She’s overbearing, doting, overprotective and fragile at the same time. Udo Kier, as the director of the Brad’s play, is impeccable. My only regret is that his part wasn’t larger. Defoe was outstanding, as usual, in his portrayal of the lead San Diego homicide detective on the case (it seems he’s everywhere lately. If you haven’t already seen Antichrist, see it immediately). Sevigny, as fiancé Ingrid, can’t really act and doesn’t even try.

All in all, this is definitely a film worth seeing. There are some gorgeous shots of the Southern Californian and Peruvian landscapes and the composition of many of the shots including mother and son are equally beautiful. The interweaving of the Sophocles play plot-line with the actual murder could perhaps have been treated a bit differently (as the film stands it appears as more of an eerie coincidence rather than as an actual catalyst for the murder); nevertheless the dynamics between mother and son will leave you chilled and uncomfortable.  -kellybourdet

Hello blog babies!! It’s been a crazy month here in NYC, with all sorts of festivals, CMJ, Brooklyn Halloween crazy crazy crazy!! But I wanted to drop y’all a line about a couple bands I happened upon during the insanity of the CMJ music showcase. Every indie darling/your favorite electro DJ was here as well as all the biggest Atlanta acts, but here are a couple less well-known bands that seem pretty promising.

First, Jessica Six, this Brooklyn-based electro/dance-pop trio is a side project of members of Hercules and Love Affair. I checked them out at one of the last CMJ shows of the weekend held at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

Although, in a semi-divaish fashion, the show started over an hour late, once the band got going they were really into providing a great show. The lead singer, Romi Ruiz, was dancing, sweating, and screaming dressed in one of the most scandalous mesh/lace/spandex get-ups I’ve ever seen. The music ranges from outright pop to slower, more melancholy ballads. Although some of the songs could have benefited from a more fleshed-out chorus, there were enough haunting vocals to keep my attention. They’re a pretty new band and don’t have too much up on their myspace, but check them out if they come to a spot near you.

P.S. The lead singer is transgender and, in the middle of the show, the fratty boy next to me leaned over and drunkenly said, “You know she’s a trans woman??!” to which I replied, “yeah, I heard.” He then yelled, “I don’t care! I would totally fuck her.” Awesome.

Second, a sweet little indie rock band called Arizona. This previously Brooklyn-based quartet now calls Asheville, NC their home. I caught their showcase early in the week at Lower East Side spot Fat Baby. Lead vocalist Ben Wigler has an endearing and unusual vocal range, hitting the upper octaves in a way in which this girl certainly can’t. Check out their myspace. I like the track “Splinter”…really catchy pop song. For all you GEORgians, they appear to be coming to a 40 watt near you this month.

P.S. I’m always a sucker for a drummer…and they got a cute one - kelly bourdet

One more thing!! Don’t forget to check out Sorry, Darlin’s Twitter!!

Okay ladies and gentlemen, I know I’ve been scarce on this blog since moving to the big city, but I still love the ATL, I still love the sorrydarlins, and I still love to subject others to my personal tastes via the internet. So, sorrydarlin has a new feature “Hit or Miss”, a la VICE’s “Do’s and Don’ts”, written by yours truly.

Every week I’ll scan internet pictures and pull out some definite fashion/lifestyle Hit’s. Your fashion-forward stylings, your PBR-fuelled antics, and your general hotness will not go unnoticed. On the flip-side, there is so much MISS lurking in the night…and they sometimes need a gentle reminder that swilling vodka in the backseat of their BFF’s BMW + electrical tape over their nipples = consequences.

So remember that time you were that upstanding young lady who was always hitting on my boyfriend? Or that time you were my upstanding boyfriend sleeping with upstanding young ladies in Los Angles? Yeah, don’t worry.
We’re cool.

Here’s the first edition of my HIT or MISS. It’s all in good fun, kids.

Okay, who is this girl? I don’t care that her glasses clearly have no lenses. She is adorable. Her bangs are great, her smirk is cute, even her pink skull thermal works for her. Yeah, she’s super hot. HIT.

Why are you two dirty hipsters so confused? What are you looking for/at? Why does that one guy look like a hotter version of Germaine from Flight of the Conchords? Whatever. HIT.

Girl, you look a little stoned, and, coupled with your tent-like tank-top and messy hair, I love it. Also hot. Also HIT.

When I lived in Atlanta I used to see this guy and wonder, “Is that too much?” Naw, HIT.

Is this Cisco Adler’s twin looking scary intense as he mock-fucks some cute blond in the photobooth? Sorry dude, MISS.

 -kelly bourdet

Judging from attendance at their last Atlanta show, I’m going to guess about 20 of you, while the rest of you are anxiously awaiting whatever that Cut Copy band will do next. But forget the aussie electro bit for a minute and explore this LA noise-rock band’s sophomore album, Get Color, with me.

HEALTH is probably best known from their Disco (V3) album (a remix album of their self-titled debut record)…remember that Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH remix of Crimewave that was unavoidable for a minute? Well, the actual (un-remixed) album was pretty fantastic and so is the new one.

HEALTH has always employed the use of vocals sparingly and, for the most part, incomprehensibly. Vocals on their tracks serve to add dimension and rythym to the sound without being the focal point of any song. The tracks on Get Color are layered with far more of these haunting vocals than their previous album, which mostly focused on sweeping and dissonant instrumentation. The result is a track like Die Slow, previously released as a single, with more highly emphasized vocals and, I suspect, more mainstream appeal. While tracks six and seven, Severin and Eat Flesh, sound more similar to the band’s debut album roots, they are still incredibly listenable and make the album a good mix of the old and new. All in all, Get Color seems an appropriate evolution of this noise-rock band’s sound. It maintains the roughness of the original while advancing to, perhaps, the slightly more beautiful.

Also, for those of you who love a hot asian boy, and I know I do, the bassist from HEALTH isn’t bad either…

PS I’m sure it has escaped most of this readership that I have moved on from the ATL and now reside in brooklyn. (I am) Forever your loving nyc correspondent…-kellybourdet

In the six months between the legalization of same sex marriage in California and  passage of Proposition 8, legislation which illegalized these marriages, 18,000 couples exercised their right to finally enter into a lawful marriage.

For a brief time these couples were afforded the same rights under the law as heterosexual couples.  This right was then revoked in November, essentially resulting in the forcible divorce of these couples.  The Courage Campaign is a progressive political action group in Cali and they have asked couples who married before the passage of prop8 to send in photographs with a plea: “Please don’t divorce us.”

These images have been edited together into a lovely montage of wedding day photos and family portraits.  I’m sure you’ll all recognize the background track “Fidelity”, used with permission from indie-pop sweetheart Regina Spektor, a vocal prop8 opponent.  I haven’t been able to make it through this video dry-eyed yet.

Gay men and women in this country deserve to have their loving unions treated with the same measure of respect and reverence as straight unions.  It is a straight forward civil right afforded to all individuals under our constitution, but, more so, it is a human right to be treated with dignity and equality.  If you agree, please visit this website where you can join hundred of thousands of others in signing a petition to overturn this oppressive legislation.

It is a lucky thing to find someone you love.  We ought to support and respect loving commitment, not legislate against it.

-kellybourdet