Hit a triple with the three CDs I bought last weekend, and “28 Days Later,” the zombie film I went to see, kicked ass. I love it when a plan comes together.
— 28 Days Later: I saw the version with the alternative ending. Not surprisingly, I like the bleaker approach better. But I think it better fits the nature of the film. I also was amazed at how much it pays homage to Romero. The shopping spree harkens Dawn of the Dead, with all its shopping mall antics. The captured zombie and military angle are very similar to Day of the Dead. And the alternative ending brings a bleakness that Night of the Living Dead invoked. But 28 Days still goes its own way. I particularly like the whole rage thing, and the fast-moving zombies really are creepy. Not sure what effect they used to capture that, but it worked.
— “Electric Bath,” The Don Ellis Orchestra. This CD is awesome. Stumbled across a piece on Ellis and decided to check him out. He plays a lot of off time signatures — 5/4, 7/4, 19/4 — and gives jazz a dip in psychedlia that’s really interesting. I’ll be buying more of his stuff.
— “Chinatown,” The Be Good Tanyas. These three women are incedible. I have “Blue Horse” already and fell for it immediately. This CD is just as good. Great version of Townes Van Zant’ “Waiting Around to Die,” and the originals are really solid, too.
They can play.
— “The Three Pickers: Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs.” Another winner. Scruggs, to my mind, is the father of bluegrass music (and he was way cool on the Beverly Hillbillies). Alison Krauss also appears on a few tunes. Very nice. And thanks to Tivo (all praise Tivo) I also found a “Great Performances” of this show, so I got to see the video, too.