ethan non sequitur

RENT has finally arrived and I loved it. I’ve seen RENT on stage several dozen times and I was apprehensive but hopeful for the film treatment of my favourite musical. As I expected, the film critics are split on the movie, but the fan base is loving it and the cast are enthusiastic as well. So tonight, we went and I was thrilled. Sadly, the sound at our theater could have been better, but the theater was packed with people and I am thoroughly pleased with it.

I liked the conversion of some of the transition songs to dialogue and the more detailed scene developments over the minimalist stage sets. The cast is strong, even if not everyone is my favourite from the various stage productions I’ve seen. Some of the songs lose a bit of emotional connection, but lyrically, I believe the visuals that Chris Columbus chose really reinforce the overall concept of RENT. The scenes of Roger singing in the New Mexico desert hills were a bit too Sound of Music for me, but the treatment of Angel’s death with the disappearing Life Support members on through to his hospital progression deeply moved me.

Like the stage show, I will see it again and again and will eagerly await the DVD.

There’s only us, there’s only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other road, no other way, no day but today. I can’t control my destiny. I trust my soul. My only goal is just to be. There’s only now, there’s only here. Give in to love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way. No day but today.

Thank you Jonathan Larson for your gift to us.

Just back from the midnight premiere and a bit jacked on too much Coke past my bedtime. Quite a bit darker than the previous movies and much more encouraging of a book adaptation, the fourth Harry Potter movie plain rocked. While some of the teenage acting continues to limp along and the Yule Ball scenes drag the pacing down a bit, the visuals were impressive to say the least and the film captures the 4th years’ angst and awkwardness surprisingly well. Now I just wonder what Harry is gonna sound like in two weeks with a French accent when I see him in Montpellier.

Well, sorta. =) As of December 4th, I will be living in Montpellier, France, on the Mediterranean Coast working on the next album and touring Europe. I’m also excited for some great skiing…

Any suggestions for great places to play are always appreciated. Cool clubs, music festivals, the usual… I also want to network with as many musicians as possible, english or french speaking is preferable but I’m sure we can work that out, so send me any suggestions.

France, Spain, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy and Germany et al would be great for now, Norway and neighbors and Eastern Europe would also be great once I can organize enough shows in those regions.

In December I will be working on a new version of ethanpierse.com to go along with the new touring. If you have any suggestions for content you would like to see, let me know as well.

Thanks!
-ethan

Need help discovering new music? The creators of the Music Genome Project have the answer in Pandora. By analyzing the elements of your favourite artists’ songs, like instrumentation, tonality, phrasing and the general aesthetic, it can suggest similar songs and artists. It will read your mind.

I think the $36 is pretty fair, but if you need to reset your 10 hour limit or want to skip past more songs than it wants to let you, here’s some helpful info. Resetting your cache or clearing cookies won’t help because the Pandora player is flash-based and uses Local Shared Objects (basically Flash cookies). In your Flash Player preferences folder, just delete v2_Machine.sol and v2_PerfComp.sol and you will reset your 10 hour limit and all your stations/artists. Or you could just give them the $36 bucks like I did.

This week, the director of “Uncovered: The War on Iraq” and “Outfoxed” released his latest film, “Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Prices.” It’s a powerful exposé on the toll the Wal-Mart behemoth has taken on workers and communities across the country, and how we can help turn the tide.

Wal-Mart is going into attack mode. The company has literally created a war room, staffed with political consultants who are working day and night to undermine the movie and spread pro-Wal-Mart propaganda.1 But it’s not working: thanks to the questions raised by the film, national media are tuning in to Wal-Mart’s high cost to American families—and last week the movie was featured on page 1 of the New York Times.2

Next week, a coalition of hundreds of unions, churches, small business associations and citizens’ groups3 are taking this fight to thousands of living rooms around the country, holding viewing parties to watch the movie and get organized. They’ve invited us to join them.

Host a Wal-Mart movie screening party next Tuesday, November 15th or order the movie at Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. You should also read more about WalMart Watch.

Something tells me that Halliburton is about to start a bird flu research company.