From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V15 #296 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, December 7 2006 Volume 15 : Number 296 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Answering-Machine Messages from The Chef (Season Premiere!) ["Stacked Cro] four stars in the rolling stone ["ken ostrander" ] Re: four stars in the rolling stone ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] Re: four stars in the rolling stone ["Bri N" ] RE: four stars in the rolling stone ["Marc Alberts" ] Re: four stars in the rolling stone [kevin ] Fwd: belltown ramble [2fs ] Re: Fwd: belltown ramble ["Bri N" ] RE: four stars in the rolling stone [Benjamin Lukoff ] Re: four stars in the rolling stone [Benjamin Lukoff ] Wish I spent yesterday in NYC... ["Lauren Elizabeth (gmail)" Subject: Answering-Machine Messages from The Chef (Season Premiere!) You don't work early in the morning. Do you? What time you start working, son? Yeah, how- how 'bout those Huskies? Hey gandoo, how 'bout those Huskies? Get up: I think you're sleeping. Are you sleeping? Tell me. You don't have to afraid of me. If you're sleeping, you can sleep -- just fuckin' answer. [Cackling.] "chavez of arabia": . ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:21:37 -0500 From: "ken ostrander" Subject: four stars in the rolling stone http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11738912/review/12665839/ole_tarantula The Venus 3 -- guitarist Peter Buck, drummer Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey on bass and other stuff -- are most of the Minus 5. They are also the best electric band British singer-fabulist Robyn Hitchcock has had since the Soft Boys. Hitchcock has a knockout gift for Beatlesque melodicism, and the Venus 3 rev it up here with a beat-combo drive and star-shine twang that sound like Murmur in space. Hitchcock's deft lyric blend of 1966 Bob Dylan and the pre-unhinged Syd Barrett -- acute observation set in exotic parable -- is also in full bloom here, with an intensified realism that mirrors the times. "Belltown Ramble" starts as cheerful fantasia but takes a hard turn into current events: "He says, 'What have you got?'/You say, 'I don't have anything'/He says, 'You must have oil.'" Hitchcock also makes the dead speak -- beautifully -- in "N.Y. Doll." Written in the voice of the late Arthur Kane, the song is part requiem, part affirmation of the great democracy in rock & roll: how anyone can be a star, however briefly. "I was a New York Doll/I was really something," Hitchcock sings as Kane, with the stunned wonder of a ghost amazed and grateful for how he once mattered in this world. DAVID FRICKE - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talk now to your Hotmail contacts with Windows Live Messenger. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 13:17:50 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Official REAP James Kim, 35. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16177857.htm - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 13:35:22 -0800 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone Cool. Or does this mean Robyn is officially a hippie relic now? Belltown Ramble" starts as > cheerful fantasia but takes a hard turn into current events: "He says, > 'What have you got?'/You say, 'I don't have anything'/He says, 'You must > have oil.'" I dunno about that. Robyn does "political" a lot more overtly than that these days. In context that line could be a bunch of things. The biggest connection to "big" oil I hear is inasmuch as it might refer to heating oil for the colder climes of the US, shortages of which are related to oil prices and the middle east crises, but honestly... I think Tamerlane in the song is just sort of saying, hey, you must have some of the essentials of life. Any other takers on this line as especially political? Nice review, though. - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2006 17:45:28 -0500 From: "ken ostrander" Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone i'd venture that any artist with more than twenty years in the business could be considered a relic. getting a writeup in the rolling stone is not a prerequisite. has robyn ever been mentioned in the magazine before? does the fact that snoop dogg is on the cover mean that there's only one degree of separation between them now? certainly oil evokes the middle east ramifications; but i doubt that uncle bobby is waxing politico when he quotes tamerlane (who is this guy, perhaps his identity would give us a better idea?) in his assertion that he "must have oil". what makes essential oils essential? maybe he's referring to the hottest holiday gift? frankincense? more likely we're talking bodily oils or fish oil. i took the line about going north to canada as having political meaning, though i recognize that it ain't necessarily so. Cool. Or does this mean Robyn is officially a hippie relic now? Belltown Ramble" starts as cheerful fantasia but takes a hard turn into current events: "He says, 'What have you got?'/You say, 'I don't have anything'/He says, 'You must have oil.'" I dunno about that. Robyn does "political" a lot more overtly than that these days. In context that line could be a bunch of things. The biggest connection to "big" oil I hear is inasmuch as it might refer to heating oil for the colder climes of the US, shortages of which are related to oil prices and the middle east crises, but honestly... I think Tamerlane in the song is just sort of saying, hey, you must have some of the essentials of life. Any other takers on this line as especially political? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Share your latest news with your friends with the Windows Live Spaces friends module. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 15:08:57 -0800 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone Ah, Tamerlane: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur > oil evokes the middle east ramifications; but i doubt that uncle bobby is > waxing politico when he quotes tamerlane (who is this guy, perhaps his > identity would give us a better idea?) in his assertion that he "must have > oil". what makes essential oils essential? maybe he's referring to the > hottest holiday gift? frankincense? more likely we're talking bodily oils > or fish oil. Yes, this sounds more bio-Robyn (the squirmy stuff) than politico-Robyn. > i took the line about going north to canada as having political meaning, > though i recognize that it ain't necessarily so. > I thought it it was a music-biz thing, more and more of the best bands coming from Canada. That quote is attributed to "Ken", who buys some wine for RH and his pals who then ask him how it's going... sounded like a local record-label or music journo guy, or perhaps a fellow musician. Who is this guy, perhaps his identity would give us a better idea? I proposed a Minus-Fivey possibility: http://www.kenstringfellow.com/ Thoughts? What indeed is the frequency? - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 15:09:18 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone On Dec 6, 2006, at 2:45 PM, ken ostrander wrote: > i'd venture that any artist with more than twenty years in the > business > could be considered a relic. getting a writeup in the rolling > stone is > not a prerequisite. has robyn ever been mentioned in the magazine > before? The RS combined review of fegMania! and GLTHO in 1985 prompted me to pick up a copy of the BSDR LP the next day. > > i took the line about going north to canada as having political > meaning, > though i recognize that it ain't necessarily so. I think he mentions in a recent interview that "Ken" is a bartender at Two Bells, and was talking about moving to Canada for political reasons. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 17:39:21 -0800 From: "Bri N" Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone > The RS combined review of fegMania! and GLTHO in 1985 prompted me to > pick up a copy of the BSDR LP the next day. - -tc I just watched the GLTHO dvd while working out (fit feg!). Strange to watch Robyn younger than I am now. He still seems older, maybe wiser than 32. There's just not enough footage of young Robyn. What happened to that footage of the Soft Boys (circa 1980) playing Only The Stones Remain? Anyway from then till 1985 there is nothing I've seen on film! - -Nuppy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 21:50:35 -0500 From: "Lauren Elizabeth (gmail)" Subject: Re: GLTHO Bri N says: > I just watched the GLTHO dvd while working out (fit feg!). Strange to watch Robyn younger than I am now. He still seems older, maybe wiser than 32. I just watched that one too a few days ago although not while working out (CD of "Groovy Decay" as of late for that). I have a fondness for that and the cheesy 80's "special" effects are a plus in my book. Plus I like Robyn's combination of checked shirt with checked jacket (or something to that effect). It's actually one of the things that made me fall for Robyn and the Egyptians. I used to rent videos from the guy at Repo Records (a long time back, before he moved to Philadelphia) and that was one I rented. I had gotten "Element of Light" for contributing to WXPN (only picked it because I had no idea who Robyn was and I didn't like the four other choices.) But it was "America" on the video tape that ended up getting to me. I still love that line "I gave America your name / and she taped it on the sea." It's a little over-the-top, but it still works for me. xo Lauren - -- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "People with opinions just go around bothering one another." - The Buddha ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 19:18:19 -0800 From: "Marc Alberts" Subject: RE: four stars in the rolling stone Tom Clark wrote: > On Dec 6, 2006, at 2:45 PM, ken ostrander wrote: > > > i'd venture that any artist with more than twenty years in the > > business > > could be considered a relic. getting a writeup in the rolling > > stone is > > not a prerequisite. has robyn ever been mentioned in the magazine > > before? > > The RS combined review of fegMania! and GLTHO in 1985 prompted me to > pick up a copy of the BSDR LP the next day. Same sort of story with me and Globe of Frogs. I seem to remember a rather unfriendly review for Perspex Island, but that could be my old age playing tricks on me. > > > > i took the line about going north to canada as having political > > meaning, > > though i recognize that it ain't necessarily so. > > I think he mentions in a recent interview that "Ken" is a bartender > at Two Bells, and was talking about moving to Canada for political > reasons. This doesn't necessarily reference national politics--in 2004 there was a state-level gay marriage initiative that caused a number of gay friends to discuss moving to Canada. Might be the same issue, given how long Robyn sometimes plays with his songs. Marc ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 01:59:30 -0500 From: "ken ostrander" Subject: old long since na fegs. the television signals beamed into our brains are being canceled out by the microwave oven; but don't hold the cell phone too close. my dreams are of libraries and numbered clouds with hippie chicks and businesswomen competing for my attention in an underground dome where i can't get a signal. i file everything together including jazz with rock and paper and scissors. energy is represented as a kiff of smoke with zappa as messenger rna. initiators broom and rex factor off against one another creating a cacophonic synthesis with their paralytic nematocysts and chris norman comes stumblin in from the silk road wearing no bra but a leather girdle he swiped from some runaways of feminine masculinity. poison is shared with friends at the texas holdum brush clearing as the coalition forces go all in heavy booted and wild eyed with the mongols for the title of knocking down the most magnificent sandcastles. history refuses to do them any favors and the feeling is mutual. they went drilling for peace and...wham! the sky just blackened on the bluescreen. running out of living, the pitchfork effect is crosseyed and painless though sensitive spleens are more susceptible to the aromatherapy of facts. withdrawl in disgust is not the same as apathy. yeah heavy and a bottle of bread; we'll take a cup of kindness yet. my future double listens without prejudice as the sports machine gets it on in the bathroom stall with panayiotou and marty score says his favorite flick doesn't have any screaming lambs. the fox confessor brings the flood. this briggs will explode. let's all drink to the death of a clown with the sad eyed lowland ladies. godwin's rule does not apply. where does collaboration end and membership begin? click cluck. in the year of purification the elephant and the crocodile ramble together somewhere apart. so long and thanks for all the fish, chock full of bioflavenoids and essential oils. it's going north to quebec. put down that weapon and get milked. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get free, personalized commercial-free online radio with MSN Radio powered by Pandora ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 06:30:16 -0800 (GMT-08:00) From: kevin Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone As an inhabitatant of Seattle let me offer the following: Ken works at Two Bells. That's why he's pouring wine. And in the dark days of the Bush II regime there have been a lot of people in these parts talking about emigrating to Canada, me included. That's what the "going north" references are to. Also, what some parties have heard as references to OMD are in fact RH spelling out the name of the Claremont Hotel, which is name-checked in the song - "CLA, REM, ONT" is what the big guy is singing. The tune is a catalogue of chatty references to people and places in the Belltown district, is all. Someone with more time than me should do a concordance. - -----Original Message----- >From: Spotted Eagle Ray >Sent: Dec 6, 2006 3:08 PM >To: ken ostrander , Not Reg >Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone > >Ah, Tamerlane: >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur > > >> oil evokes the middle east ramifications; but i doubt that uncle bobby is >> waxing politico when he quotes tamerlane (who is this guy, perhaps his >> identity would give us a better idea?) in his assertion that he "must have >> oil". what makes essential oils essential? maybe he's referring to the >> hottest holiday gift? frankincense? more likely we're talking bodily oils >> or fish oil. > > >Yes, this sounds more bio-Robyn (the squirmy stuff) than politico-Robyn. > >> i took the line about going north to canada as having political meaning, >> though i recognize that it ain't necessarily so. >> >I thought it it was a music-biz thing, more and more of the best bands >coming from Canada. That quote is attributed to "Ken", who buys some wine >for RH and his pals who then ask him how it's going... sounded like a local >record-label or music journo guy, or perhaps a fellow musician. Who is >this guy, perhaps his identity would give us a better idea? I proposed a >Minus-Fivey possibility: > >http://www.kenstringfellow.com/ > >Thoughts? What indeed is the frequency? > >-SER ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 09:59:30 -0600 From: 2fs Subject: Fwd: belltown ramble Kevin - like this? - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jason Brown Date: Oct 9, 2006 11:47 PM Subject: RE: belltown ramble To: Chapmaniax Here are some Seattle centric clarifications. I hadn't realized how weird these some of these lyrics seem if you aren't familiar with Seattle > and also what is not > don't you girl? > it's an independant life > and you want to see your eyes > reflected in the world > so you go down forth to blanchard That's "Fourth to Blanchard" As in Fourht Avenue in Seattle in the Belltown neighborhood. BTW this a much mouch cooler Seattle song than the rather embarassing Viva Sea Tac. > and turn right on rock blue rue That's Roq la Rue (http://www.roqlarue.com/)a pop art gallery on Second Ave a block up from as... > past the crocodile ...the Crocodile Cafe http://www.thecrocodile.com/ > then you slide down forth againwhere the clairmont used to be Again that's Fourth ave The Claremont used to be a hotel. Now its apartments or a retirement home or something. > say hello ariel (r.e.l.) ont C-L-A-R-E-M-O-N-T > then you find the uzbek warlord > you collide with tamerlane > his teeth are brown > oh he doesn't speak he prods you > then he says burning trains > back in your hometown > then you roll down denny way This is Denny Way which forht avenue runs into. > past the pink rotating elephant this is the sign for the Elephant Car Wash http://www.elephantcarwash.com/ >e.x.p. this either refers to the offices of KEXP (http://www.kexp.org) or the Experince Music Project Building both of which are close by http://www.emplive.org/ > and you say well come what may > now i'm in my element > i'm where i ought to be > but tamerlaine is hot > he's mounted on the elephant > the coffee's on the boil > and he says what have you got? > you say i don't have anything > he says you must have oil > so you wanna know what is > and also what is not > don't you girl? > it's an independant life > and you want to see your eyes > reflected in the world > look out baby > seven men are on their way > seven sets of appetites > have got to be appeased today > igornance comes first > then comes opportunism > greed is third > fundamental faith rides in > backwards with his eyes shut > listening for the word > in bowls number five > he needs a bit of elbow room > his name is haste > he fires off a slew of emails > and says put your hands together boys > for six eight k a waist For six 8k a waste? For six ok a waste? > the boys all look around > they look to number seven > reclining in his chair > he's got his headphones on > his head is full of paradise > he isn't there > and also what is not > don't you girl? > it's an independant life > and you want to see your eyes > reflected in the world > tamerline and i went to > the two bells The Two Bells Tavern a nice divey place Robyn often plays ecret shows at. > back on forth Fouth Ave again. > ken orders some wine > and we say how's it going > ken he said it's going north > to canada > it's going to canada > you can walk a square > you can walk an oblong > even just walk straight > you'll still be standing there > though you think you did the job wrong > you did it great - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 09:11:37 -0800 From: "Bri N" Subject: Re: Fwd: belltown ramble Best Robyn related post of 06'. - -Nuppy - --- jeffreyw2fs.j@gmail.com wrote: From: 2fs To: "Not Reg" Subject: Fwd: belltown ramble Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 09:59:30 -0600 Kevin - like this? - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jason Brown Date: Oct 9, 2006 11:47 PM Subject: RE: belltown ramble To: Chapmaniax Here are some Seattle centric clarifications. I hadn't realized how weird these some of these lyrics seem if you aren't familiar with Seattle > and also what is not > don't you girl? > it's an independant life > and you want to see your eyes > reflected in the world > so you go down forth to blanchard That's "Fourth to Blanchard" As in Fourht Avenue in Seattle in the Belltown neighborhood. BTW this a much mouch cooler Seattle song than the rather embarassing Viva Sea Tac. > and turn right on rock blue rue That's Roq la Rue (http://www.roqlarue.com/)a pop art gallery on Second Ave a block up from as... > past the crocodile ...the Crocodile Cafe http://www.thecrocodile.com/ > then you slide down forth againwhere the clairmont used to be Again that's Fourth ave The Claremont used to be a hotel. Now its apartments or a retirement home or something. > say hello ariel (r.e.l.) ont C-L-A-R-E-M-O-N-T > then you find the uzbek warlord > you collide with tamerlane > his teeth are brown > oh he doesn't speak he prods you > then he says burning trains > back in your hometown > then you roll down denny way This is Denny Way which forht avenue runs into. > past the pink rotating elephant this is the sign for the Elephant Car Wash http://www.elephantcarwash.com/ >e.x.p. this either refers to the offices of KEXP (http://www.kexp.org) or the Experince Music Project Building both of which are close by http://www.emplive.org/ > and you say well come what may > now i'm in my element > i'm where i ought to be > but tamerlaine is hot > he's mounted on the elephant > the coffee's on the boil > and he says what have you got? > you say i don't have anything > he says you must have oil > so you wanna know what is > and also what is not > don't you girl? > it's an independant life > and you want to see your eyes > reflected in the world > look out baby > seven men are on their way > seven sets of appetites > have got to be appeased today > igornance comes first > then comes opportunism > greed is third > fundamental faith rides in > backwards with his eyes shut > listening for the word > in bowls number five > he needs a bit of elbow room > his name is haste > he fires off a slew of emails > and says put your hands together boys > for six eight k a waist For six 8k a waste? For six ok a waste? > the boys all look around > they look to number seven > reclining in his chair > he's got his headphones on > his head is full of paradise > he isn't there > and also what is not > don't you girl? > it's an independant life > and you want to see your eyes > reflected in the world > tamerline and i went to > the two bells The Two Bells Tavern a nice divey place Robyn often plays ecret shows at. > back on forth Fouth Ave again. > ken orders some wine > and we say how's it going > ken he said it's going north > to canada > it's going to canada > you can walk a square > you can walk an oblong > even just walk straight > you'll still be standing there > though you think you did the job wrong > you did it great - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 10:24:56 -0800 (PST) From: Benjamin Lukoff Subject: RE: four stars in the rolling stone On Wed, 6 Dec 2006, Marc Alberts wrote: > This doesn't necessarily reference national politics--in 2004 there was a > state-level gay marriage initiative that caused a number of gay friends to > discuss moving to Canada. Might be the same issue, given how long Robyn > sometimes plays with his songs. There was? In Washington? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 10:26:25 -0800 (PST) From: Benjamin Lukoff Subject: Re: four stars in the rolling stone On Thu, 7 Dec 2006, kevin wrote: > As an inhabitatant of Seattle let me offer the following: > Ken works at Two Bells. That's why he's pouring wine. And in the dark > days of the Bush II regime there have been a lot of people in these > parts talking about emigrating to Canada, me included. That's what the How many of you were talking seriously about it--and how many, I wonder, actually moved? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 13:15:31 -0500 From: "Lauren Elizabeth (gmail)" Subject: Wish I spent yesterday in NYC... ...nothing much better than a David Lynch movie on opening day. Some of you folks must be fans. NYT gave it a good write up. I'm psyched that Laura Dern is back on board. xo Lauren (Warning...plot summary follows) Link: http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/movies/06empi.html?em&ex=1165640400&en=f0a9bb3597e892b8&ei=5087%0A (registration required) Softcopy: << December 6, 2006 MOVIE REVIEW | 'INLAND EMPIRE' The Trippy Dream Factory of David Lynch By MANOHLA DARGIS There are, in the movies, few places creepier to spend time than in David Lynch's head. It is a head where the wild things grow, twisting and spreading like vines, like fingers, and taking us in their captive embrace. Over the last three decades these wild things have laid siege to us even as they have mutated: the deformed baby of "Eraserhead" evolving into the anguished distortions of "The Elephant Man," the Reagan-era surrealism of "Blue Velvet," the serial home invasion in "Twin Peaks" and the meta-cinematic masterpiece "Mulholland Drive," a dispatch from that smog-choked boulevard of broken dreams called Hollywood. Mr. Lynch revisits that bewitched boulevard in the extraordinary, savagely uncompromised "Inland Empire," his first feature in five years, his first shot in video and one of the few films I've seen this year that deserves to be called art. Dark as pitch, as noir, as hate, by turns beautiful and ugly, funny and horrifying, the film is also as cracked as Mad magazine, though generally more difficult to parse. I'm still trying to figure out what the giant talking rabbits  which seem to be living in Ralph Kramden's apartment, as redesigned by Edward Hopper  have to do with the weepy Polish woman who may be a whore or merely lost or, because this is a David Lynch film (after all), probably both. As the Good Witch of the North says, it's always best to start at the beginning and, so, once upon a time, an actress, Nikki Grace (a dazzling, fearless Laura Dern), receives a stranger (Grace Zabriskie, hilarious, unsettling) into her home. The unnamed visitor, a new neighbor with bulging eyes and an East European accent, engages in some gossip ("I hear you have a new role") before delivering two brief parables that hint at the weirdness to follow. When the boy went out into the world to play, the stranger says, evil was born and followed the boy. When the girl went out to play, though, she got lost in the marketplace, which pretty much sums up what happens to most pretty actresses in Hollywood. Like "Mulholland Drive," which this new film resembles like an evil twin, "Inland Empire" involves an attractive blond actress who tumbles down rabbit holes inside rabbit holes inside rabbit holes. In "Mulholland Drive," the actress finally chokes on the acrid smoke that billows out of the dream factory, imagining herself in a starring role before gasping her last breath in what looks like a Nathanael West rooming house of horrors. They shoot actresses, don't they? Yes, they do, and usually before the clincher. Mostly, though, actresses just fade away, undone by wrinkles and the industry's lack of interest in anything female that doesn't jiggle. By contrast, in his strange way, Mr. Lynch loves women, or at least their representations. And he gives them terribly tasty roles. Few are tastier or finally more terrible than the role of Nikki Grace, whose porn-star name suggests tacky self-invention and a straight-to-video career. Soon after entertaining her foreign-accented visitor, Nikki, who looks to be in her mid-30s, is rehearsing for a new film called "On High in Blue Tomorrows" with a director, Kingsley Stewart (Jeremy Irons, expertly blending unction with ego), and her co-star, Devon Berk (Justin Theroux, butched-up as a neo-greaser). A romantic melodrama, this preposterously titled film involves Susan Blue and Billy Side, nattily dressed Southerners who flirt with indirection on the veranda while an almost-unrecognizable Julia Ormond plays the other woman, kind of. In time, this film-within-a-film casts an enveloping shadow over Nikki, leading her real and reel lives to blur. The reeler it gets, the weirder it gets. Nikki or Susan or perhaps both enter another story that resembles a tawdrier version of "On High in Blue Tomorrows." In this unvarnished version of the film-within-the-film, Susan spends a lot of time in a sinister house with some half-dozen women who appear to be whores. The whores chew the fat and their naughty lower lips, lounge on a street in a snowy Polish city in what appears to be the 1930s and end up laughing on a nostalgically seedy modern Hollywood Boulevard. A couple also pop up in a suburban backyard that looks like what you would expect to find in the bleak Southern California region of the larger film's title. Most dance while lip-synching "The Loco-Motion." The easiest way into "Inland Empire" is through the grand mansions, derelict houses, ominous hallways and grubby back alleys that Nikki, Susan, the big rabbits and the whores inhabit. Each room brings new moods, visual textures, threats and sometimes even a crime, as well as such familiar Lynchian flourishes as a buzzing electric light and velvety red curtains. The film shows a small room in which the weeping Polish woman watches a television set flooded with static. This room is replaced by another, more claustrophobic one crowded with floral designs, in which a woman and a man settle what sounds like a money-for-sex transaction; this is, in turn, is replaced by a lavishly appointed, gilt-edged room of the sort found in European palaces and museums. How Nikki and the other characters wind up in these rooms  how, for instance, the pampered blonde ends up talking trash in a spooky, B-movie office  is less important than what happens inside these spaces. In "Inland Empire," the classic hero's journey has been supplanted by a series of jarringly discordant scenes, situations and setups that reflect one another much like the repeating images in the splintered hall of mirrors at the end of Orson Welles's "Lady From Shanghai." The spaces in "Inland Empire" function as way stations, holding pens, states of minds (Nikki's, Susan's, Mr. Lynch's), sites of revelation and negotiation, of violence and intimacy. They are cinematic spaces in which images flower and fester, and stories are born. Each new space also serves as a stage on which dramatic entrances and exits are continually being made. The theatricality of these entrances and exits underscores the mounting tension and frustrates any sense that the film is unfolding with the usual linear logic. Like characters rushing in and out of the same hallway doors in a slapstick comedy, Nikki/Susan keeps changing position, yet, for long stretches, doesn't seem as if she were going anywhere new. For the most part, this strategy works (if nothing else, it's truer to everyday life than most films), even if there are about 20 minutes in this admirably ambitious 179-minute film that feel superfluous. "Inland Empire" has the power of nightmares and at times the more prosaic letdown of self-indulgence. In an interview published while this film was in production, Mr. Lynch said he shot "Inland Empire" without a final screenplay, which is easy to believe. Like the surrealist practice of automatic writing, the film feels as if it could have been made in a trance, dredged up from within. Then again, this is a filmmaker who probably doesn't need to tap his unconscious to let loose his demons; one suspects they are lurking right there in the open. Even when his images are flooded with bright Southern California light, danger hovers, suggestively buzzing. No one makes that caressing light seem so dark, so frightening, perhaps because few American filmmakers dare to peel back the surface of things to show us what squirms beneath. "Inland Empire" isn't a film to love. It is a work to admire, to puzzle through, to wrestle with. Its pleasures are fugitive, even frustrating. The first time I saw it, I was repulsed by the shivers of Lynchian sadism, a feeling doubtless informed by my adoration of the far more approachable, humanistic "Mulholland Drive." On second viewing, though, "Inland Empire" seemed funnier, more playful and somehow heartfelt. Certainly, there is nothing but love in Ms. Dern's performance, which is as much a gift to us as to the director who has given this actress her greatest roles. It's easy to get lost in a David Lynch film, but Ms. Dern and her amazing rubber-band mouth, which laughs like the sun and cries us a river, proves a magnificent guide. "Inland Empire" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes adult language, partial female nudity, bloody violence and ubiquitous menace. INLAND EMPIRE Opens today in Manhattan. Written and directed by David Lynch; Mr. Lynch, Erik Crary, Odd Geir Saether and Ole Johan Roska, camera; edited by Mary Sweeney; art director, Christina Wilson; produced by Ms. Sweeney and Mr. Lynch; released by Studio Canal. At the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village. Running time: 179 minutes. WITH: Laura Dern (Nikki Grace/Susan Blue), Jeremy Irons (Kingsley Stewart), Justin Theroux (Devon Berk/Billy Side), Grace Zabriskie (Visitor No. 1), Julia Ormond (Doris Side) and Harry Dean Stanton (Freddie Howard). >> - -- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "People with opinions just go around bothering one another." - The Buddha ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V15 #296 ********************************