This past weekend, I got the movie Primeval from Netflix. If you're not familiar with it, you're not missing that much. It's a sort of horror movie starring Dominic Purcell (one of the two leads from the indescribably crappy TV series Prison Break) and Orlando Jones, an underrated comic actor who got his big break on the equally underrated MAD TV. Those two, plus a damsel destined for distress and a few other incidental schmucks, go to Africa in search of "Gustave," a 25-foot crocodile that's been eating people for years. During their search, they run afoul of the local warlord, who calls himself Little Gustave in tribute to his less-evolved but equally predatory counterpart.
The movie holds quite firmly to its view of Africa as primitive hellhole where if you're not getting chewed on by prehistoric beasts, you're getting shot or raped by the savage natives - who haven't changed a bit despite trading nose-bones for post-colonial fatigues and AK-47s. So sensitive souls will doubtless find it regressive, even offensive. That's not the big problem for me, of course - I've been watching white-man-in-the-Third-World horror flicks going back at least to Wes Craven's The Serpent And The Rainbow, if not Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust, and I'm fine with their...uncomplicated racial politics. My big problem with Primeval is that it's boring. The crocodile is a fairly phony bit of CGI, and the thuggish Africans aren't half as intimidating as the project dealers in The Wire.
The only good scene in the whole thing, the only moment that displays even a glimmer of style, is one in which a little girl, swimming in a river, is eaten in a single bite, with no anticipatory Jaws-style music or anything. One second she's there, the next she's not, and there are no shocked reactions from adult bystanders, or anything - we're just off to the next scene. That filmmaking choice, in its way, displays a genuine attitude toward the cheapness of African lives to the filmmakers - an ugly attitude, but a clear one, and thus worth displaying on-screen.
But anyway, my point in typing this post isn't to talk about the movie, but its soundtrack. There's very little non-score music in the film; three or four songs, one of which rolls over the closing credits. But of those four songs, two are absolute scorchers - so awesome, in fact, that I paused the credits so I could write them down and seek out the compilations on which they appear.
The first is Moussa Doumbia's "Keleya." Appearing in two versions (one just under five minutes, one nudging eleven) on an album of the same name, it's a scorching hunk of Afro-funk that combines almost muezzin-like chanted vocals with Archie Shepp-esque buzzy/roaring sax and guitar that sounds sourced from a James Brown bootleg circa 1969 on the short version, and from a Can bootleg circa 1972 on the long take. Plus, the long take adds sardonic female backing vocals reminiscent of Afrika 70 at their best.
The second is "Allah Wakbarr," by Ofo The Black Company. It's available in a couple of places - the Luaka Bop compilation World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's A Real Thing, or where I found it, on the 3CD set Nigeria '70: The Definitive Story Of 1970s Funky Lagos, a blazing 3CD set that also features early and/or rare tracks by Koola Lobitos, King Sunny Ade, and Fela with Afrika 70, among many others. Import-only, but well worth dredging up if you're at all into 1970s Afro-funk. (If you're not into 1970s Afro-funk, what the hell is wrong with you, anyway?) This track is even noisier and wilder than "Keleya," featuring a scraping-the-inside-of-your-skull-with-a-rusty-chisel guitar sound to open things up that would make Jack White wet himself, and a riff straight out of a 1971 cop show. Every sound, from vocals to percussion to that unbelievably hellish guitar, has been fed through so much distortion it makes Konono No. 1 sound like the cleanest Berlin techno you ever chilled to. These guys are like the Chambers brothers on crystal meth, borrowing Motörhead's PA. An absolute must-hear.
This has been Multiculturalism For The Uncultured. See you around!
Welcome back, Phil!
Far as Primeval, I haven’t seen it. But I will say this: I can think of a handful of movies where I’ve seriously pondered demanding my ticket price back. Primeval is the only one I can recall where being subjected to the theatrical trailer had that effect. What a piece of shit.
Conversely, “Allah Wakbar” IS the SHIT! Where’d you find a copy of Nigeria ’70? That bad boy’s been out of print for several years & now commands cartfuls of ducats.
Posted by: derek at October 10, 2007 1:40 PMThat Nigeria 70 set is a great one--highly recommended!
Oddly enough, Ill be wearing the exact same outfit as the guy on the cover to the Rowe/Ottavi sets in a couple of weeks.
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at October 10, 2007 1:42 PMBrian - when you're done with the outfit, send it up north my way. Those boots are so groovalicious!
Posted by: Tom Sekowski at October 10, 2007 2:31 PM>Where’d you find a copy of Nigeria ’70?
Um, by Googling "Nigeria 70 Rapidshare"...
Posted by: pdf at October 10, 2007 3:58 PM[smacks head] I should've known. It's the age we're living in for better & worse.
Posted by: derek at October 10, 2007 4:05 PMMy personal code is, I almost never download stuff unless it's a) out of print or b) something I'm using for research for a piece.
Posted by: pdf at October 10, 2007 4:48 PMThe operative there is "almost" ;) but I hear you.
Posted by: derek at October 10, 2007 5:02 PMWhich "project dealer" at The Wire were you thinking of, Phil? :)))) (Nah, don't answer that..)
Posted by: Dan Warburton at October 10, 2007 10:03 PMDerek Walmsley, of course.
Seriously, if you're not familiar with The Wire, Dan, allow yourself to become addicted. I bought the first season on DVD because it was on sale for like $23, and a month or two later bought seasons 2 and 3 just in time for a 10-day vacation, which I spent parked in front of my TV, watching one disc (2 or 3 episodes) per day. Now I've got season 4 on pre-order from Amazon, along with that five-discs-in-a-metal-briefcase version of Blade Runner.
Posted by: pdf at October 11, 2007 3:48 AMThe Wire = Best Dramatic TV Series Ever. imho.
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at October 11, 2007 5:17 AMThe Wire is the greatest show on tv, though technically the fifth (& final) season doesn’t start ‘til January. Do check it out, Dan, if you haven’t already. You're in for a treat, Phil, the fourth season is my favorite. I mean what other series has/had the courage to backburner nearly it's entire core cast & replace them with unknown adolescent actors? A risky move that turned out to be a stroke of genius.
Fred Kaplan had a decent write-up of that Blade Runner box in the NYT, last week I think it was. Love the flick, but don't think I need 4 discs worth of ephemera.
Posted by: derek at October 11, 2007 5:51 AMAnd here I was thinking it was some new music magazine..
TV series? I stopped with Dr Who.
TV series? I stopped with Dr Who.
You're starting to sound like Graham, Dan. I can think of at least a half dozen TV series since Dr. Who that are worth your time.
Then again, maybe it is a wise move to resist the pull of the cathode ray tube. As we all so thoroughly know: "addiction ain't fiction".
Posted by: derek at October 11, 2007 8:15 AMWord. DVD collection just passed the 400 mark this week.. Sound like Graham, do I? Maybe it's a Brit expat thang.
No cell phone here, either.
"on the equally underrated MAD TV."
this quote equals permanent disqualification of your critic credentials
At the risk of tripping his ubiquitous name drop sensors, maybe it’s more like a Jon Abbey thing. As in: X art form (yes, I think TV can qualify as such) has been “dead” since such & such a date. I’m in tacit agreement that most TV sucks, but there’s some worthwhile oases out there too: The Wire, Deadwood, first few seasons of Hill Street Blues & The Rockford Files, The Sweeney, Prime Suspect, etc.
You’ve got me beat on the DVD front by a good 100. That being quite an investment, how does the Mrs. Warburton feel about the buckets of ducats donated to the cause?
Posted by: derek at October 12, 2007 9:03 AMthis quote equals permanent disqualification of your critic credentials
Phil’s had his critic epaulets ripped from his uniform more times than he can count. He’s like the cigar-chomping sergeant who specializes in insubordination & ass-kicking.
If you wanna have fun come home with me
You can stay all night and play with my TV
TV is the thing this year, this year
TV is the thing this year
Radio was great, now it's out of date
TV is the thing this year
Last night I was watching old Tom Nix
My TV broke, I was in a fix
I Got on the phone, and called my man,
Said get here daddy as fast as you can
TV is the thing this year, oh
TV is the thing this year,
Radio was great, but now it's out of date
and TV is the thing this year
Now he turned my dial to channel one
I knew that this was gonna be fun
He turned my dial to channel two
That station thrilled me through and through
He moved one notch to channel three
I said oh how I love what you're doin' to me
He said, wait a minute, let's try channel four
Just about that time someone knocked on the door
TV is the thing this year, oh yes
TV is the thing this year,
Radio was great, now it's out of date
TV is the thing this year
The way he eased into channel five
That man musta had fluid drive
He moved once more to channel six
Then he opened up his bag of tricks
On channel seven the show was late
But we got our kicks on channel eight
He turned my dial to channel nine
Said Baby, your set is workin' fine
He moved on up to channel ten
Then we started all over again
He finally hit channel eleven
I cried mama, he treats your daughter so good!
TV is the thing this year, yes
TV is the thing this year
Yes radio was great, but now it's out of date
TV is the thing this year
Baby my set will need fixin' just about this time every night!
- Dinah Washington, 1953 (the operative words being "this year")
Posted by: Djlletante at October 12, 2007 11:46 AMoh baby i see you on my tv set yeah baby i see you on my tv set i cut your head off and put it in my tv set i use your eyeballs for dials on my tv set i watch tv i watch tv since i put you in my tv set ...
- The Cramps (1980)
Prefigures by 15 years the excellent B-Movie, Cemetery Man.
Posted by: Sarah Lockhart at October 12, 2007 1:51 PMIn that case, let's not forget TV OD, B-side to the legendary "Warm Leatherette," by The Normal, aka Daniel Miller, 1978
Posted by: djll at October 12, 2007 9:28 PM"how does the Mrs. Warburton feel about the buckets of ducats donated to the cause?"
Happily (happily?) she's just as hooked as I am. We're a dangerous pair. Went out to buy a magazine yesterday evening and came back with three more (DVDs).
prison break's great, a chicken foot to anyone who says otherwise
people gonna have a field day with that one....
...or just ignore it, whatever
Posted by: evil twin at October 29, 2007 3:59 AM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................