I DO LIKE TO BE B-SIDE THE A-SIDE

Also (because I just posted this list elsewhere), my top 10 Manic Street Preachers b-sides (at the moment):

1. "Donkeys," ("Roses in the Hospital," 1993)
2. "Patrick Bateman," ("La Tristesse Durera," 1993)
3. "Montana/Autumn/78," ("If You Tolerate This, Your Children are Next," 1998)
4. "Prologue to History," ("If You Tolerate This, Your Children are Next," 1998)
5. "Are Mothers Saints?" ("Life Becoming a Landslide," 1994)
6. "Mr. Carbohydrate," ("A Design for Life," 1996)
7. "Fear of Motion," ("Let Robeson Sing," 2001)
8. "Anorexic Rodin," ("Indian Summer," 2007)
9. "No One Knows What it's Like to Be Me," ("Everything Must Go," 1996)
10. "I'm Leaving You for Solitude," ("It's Not War - Just the End of Love," 2010)

DON'T BE EVIL

The lines have all been blurred
To the point of no return
The sickos and the bullies praise your name
You then wrench their lives with pleasure and fame

As corporate as a suit you won't wear
As stupid as the jeans you tear
As evil as the pretence you care
God save us all from Satan's stare

Oh, don't be evil
Just be corporate
And fool the world with your own importance
Betray your tedium for the world to see
Your own movie star and it's for free

The lines have all been blurred
To the point of no return
With normal people living normal lives
Normal things seen through normal eyes

As corporate as the suit you won't wear
As stupid as the jeans you tear
As evil the pretence you care
God save us all from Satan's stare

Oh, don't be evil
Just be corporate
And fool the world with your own importance

Betray your tedium for the world to see
Your own movie star and it's for free

Oh, don't be evil
Just be corporate
And fool the world with your own importance
Betray your tedium for the world to see
Your own movie star and it's for free

The music's going
The sun is showing
The printed word is all done and dusted

Oh, don't be evil
Just be corporate
And fool the world with your own importance

The music's going
The sun is showing
Pretend technology made us equal

Oh, don't be evil
Just be corporate
And fool the world with your own importance

MICHAEL

He's the brother of Sean, the husband of Aimee Mann; here is the incredibly underrated Michael Penn and here are my top 10 favorite Michael Penn songs:

1. "Room 712, The Apache," (Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947, 2005)

2. "Out of its Misery," (MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident, 2000)

3. "No Myth," (March, 1989)

4. "Me Around," (Resigned, 1997)

5. "Whole Truth," (MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident, 2000)

6. "Try," (Resigned, 1997)

7. "All That That Implies," (Resigned, 1997)

8. "Walter Reed," (Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947, 2005)

9. "Selfish," (Resigned, 1997)

10. "Perfect Candidate," (MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident, 2000)

PARIS BLUES

A pair of Style Council videos shot for French television in 1984. The picture quality is bad on these, but it's interesting to finally see them after reading about them several years ago in Iain Munn's excellent TSC book, Mr. Cool's Dream...

VIDEO

SHINY AND NEW

I'm on Newsarama today, talking about the new Image Comics app launched in tandem with comiXology.

I'm also on comiXology, or at least my graphic novella Long Hot Summer is. Featuring some of Phonogram artist Jamie McKelvie's first comics work, the digital version is now available here. And it looks great on the iPad!

WEDNESDAY GIRL

Mareva Galenter

THE SUN AIN'T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE

AMC finally made the four-and-a-half minute long Comic-Con trailer for their upcoming television adaptation of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead available online this morning. Until recently, the trailer was only available via cam footage on YouTube, but this is the real deal, and if you haven't seen it yet, it is awesome:

More info at AMC's Walking Dead blog.

TO SEE THE LIGHTS

More neon signs from around town. Within a few blocks of each other, actually...

High Tide Cocktails, date unknown

Hotel Essex, 1912

Woerner's Liqours, date unknown

The Ha-Ra Club, 1947

BRIGHT LIGHTS

I have a great fondness for neon signs, especially the older, more elaborate signs that were so popular during the first half of the 20th Century. San Francisco has an abundance of these wonderful old signs (as well as some of a more recent vintage), so whilst trying out the camera on my new iPhone, I decided to snap a few of my local favorites:

Tommy's Joynt, 1947

Hotel Senator, 1924

Victor's Pizza, 1954

Hotel Carlton, 1927

The Bigfoot Lodge, 2001

The Nite Cap, date unknown

SCOTT PILGRIM

If you haven't seen Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, go see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Criminally overlooked during its opening weekend to an uninspired marketing campaign and the fact that Michael Cera has more or less burned through all the goodwill he earned from his roles in Arrested Development and Superbad, the Edgar Wright-directed adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel series is not only quite good, but refreshingly inventive.

As many reviewers have noted, there's not much to the plot, but the film is so well-shot, so well-edited, the attention to detail so exact, the neat visual tricks so genuinely cool, that it winds up being both different and fun.

Not unlike Wright's other films, Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

It's definitely one of the best comic book adaptations to date, and for anyone who enjoys the film, I highly recommend all six volumes of the book, too. They're available at comic book shops and book stores, but failing that, you can get 'em by visiting onipress.com.

BILL MURRAY

I didn't think it was possible for Bill Murray to get much cooler, but then somebody sent me this:

WORKING MAN'S CAFE

Britain's Daily Mail ran these photos as part of a "story" about Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher having a cup of tea together outside a West London caff, which I found interesting mainly due to the fact that PW has apparently turned orange. Well, that and the fact I think it's cool that Weller and Gallagher are down-to-earth enough to just sit at a local cafe and chat.

Not quite the cover of Café Bleu, though, is it?

WEDNESDAY GIRL

Julie Christie

HAVE YOU HEARD

If you're not familiar with Pelle Carlberg already, you should be:

AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH

I was looking for something else on YouTube and came across this fantastic clip of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell lip-syncing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for some show around the time of the record's release. Don't they look great? It must have been cold when they filmed this, because you can see Marvin's breath! Or maybe he was just that cool...

Diana Ross reworked this in 1970 for her second solo single (and more recently, Amy Winehouse reworked it even more, adding completely new lyrics to the music to come up with "Tears Dry On Their Own"), but for me, this is the definitive reading of this incredible song.

THIS IS HARDCORE

PICTURESQUE

Some more Style Council imagery, this time from their early singles. All the Council's records were lavished over by Paul Weller and designer Simon Halfon (along with photographers Peter Anderson, Nick Knight and Lawrence Watson), but their first half dozen or so releases were the ones that really left an impression. From the stark black of debut platter "Speak Like a Child" (above) to the Gallic cool of their À Paris EP, each one had its own distinct look that served to reinforce Weller's vision of the band's image...

From 1983, the 7" and 12" sleeves for second single, "Money-Go-Round":

7" and 12" sleeves for Summer 1983's À Paris EP, containing "Long Hot Summer":

7" sleeves for singles four and five, "A Solid Bond in Your Heart" (1983) and "My Every Changing Moods" (1984):

And finally, there's the Groovin' EP from 1984, featuring "You're the Best Thing" and "The Big Boss Groove," and more or less the end of TSC phase one. While Weller & Halfon continued to do interesting things with sleeve and advert design, the look changed considerably and wasn't quite as vibrant or consistent.

PEOPLE IN EUROPE

Another Style Council advert from my collection. The first Style Council ad, actually, proudly announcing "A new record by new Europeans." This was worlds away from how Paul Weller was pitching his previous band to the public, and it really got people's backs up. Not everything the Council did back then worked, but few bands were as deliberately provocative.

What a look, though: Weller in white Aquascutum mac, two tone brogues and closely cropped hair; Mick Talbot in his Bogart trench. Très cool.

YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE

Belle and Sebastian released some artwork for what will be their eighth studio album, entitled Belle and Sebastian Write About Love. No release date has been set yet, but hey, what's the rush? It's only been four years since The Life Pursuit, right?

WISHING HE WAS DEAD

WEDNESDAY GIRL

Sofia Coppola

I NEED SOME FINE WINE AND YOU, YOU NEED TO BE NICER

This is hardly new, and the impossibly sexy Nina Persson appears to be more concerned with A Camp these days, but boy, do I love this video:

SQUARES

How cool are these?

If you want one for your very own, you need go no further than here.

HIT PARADE

1. God Help the Girl - "Baby You're Blind"
2. Lucky Soul - "Up in Flames"
3. Sia - "You've Changed"
4. The Coral - "1,000 Years"
5. The Divine Comedy - "I Like"
6. The Lodger - "Have a Little Faith in People"
7. Manic Street Preachers - "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love"
8. The Morning Benders - "Excuses"
9. The Charlatans - "Love is Ending"
10. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - "Better Things"

THERE IS POWER IN A UNION

Union Made has been doing brisk business on the border of San Francisco's Misson and Castro districts for just under a year, catering to fans of quality menswear with brands like Alden, Gitman Vintage, Tretorn and Levi's Vintage Clothing. (Amongst an every-growing assortment of others...) Now they're sharing the love with those not fortunate enough to live in the Bay Area with their new online shop:

You can check them out here.

WHOA, BILLY!

WEDNESDAY GIRL

Parker Posey

THE GHOST INSIDE

EXCUSES

I LEARNED THE HARD WAY