I just saw a very interesting movie called "Tears of the Black Tiger".  It's sort of a Thaighetti Western.  They filmed the movie in Thailand, so they had to try make the movie more "western". But it fails miserably - there's just something about Thai clothing, designs, actors, trees, that is distinctively Thai.  The story seems to be borrowed from Romeo & Juliet.

Their technique and influence are obvious from Italy (or more specifically Italian Westerns), with the tight zoom in the eyes and the crazy gun fights... it's already a cult favorite since the movie was released in 2000 but FINALLY made it to DVD this month in 2007 (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures).  The domestic release features an English audio track (which is NOT BAD since everything seems to sync).  If you consider the Spaghetti Westerns with their English dubs, it sort of feels normal to have this movie dubbed.

Anyroad, hey, everybody's favorite girl-trio, the Pipettes, just announced their North American tour and special US-only EP.  And guess what ???? They are NOT SKIPPING MINNESOTA!  Unbelievable!   The 7th Street Entry is a TINY venue, there's probably only a maximum of 200 people in before they break some sort of fire code.  If anyone wants to come see them play here - you are more than welcome to stay over at my house!  I have blankets, a xbox, and 2,000 DVDs to keep ourselves entertained.

Anyway, their limited tour dates:

June 1 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
June 2 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
June 3 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
June 4 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
June 5 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
June 7 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
June 8 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
June 10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
June 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
June 12 - San Francisco, CA - Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop
June 14 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
June 15 - Vancouver, BC - Plaza Club

And for an added bonus here is the cover to The Pipettes EP "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" out on June 5th!

The sad news?  "We Are The Pipettes" LP will not be domestically released until August 28th (even though all the hardcore fans probably already have a copy!) :/