Steve Winwood

Some rad looking characters in this little number.

The art works of a certain fella known as "Max Clotfelter" will enjoy some prominent placement at a little art show opening party at the Wall of Sound record store September 10th from 7 to 9 p.m. Said show is entitled "Who Let The Alley Inside - Oozing illustrations of the end times." Rad title for an art show. Allegedly, the show will include over 100 drawings in pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and other media, which will be available for purchase by you, guy.

Hype from the press release action: Richard Krauss of Midnight Fiction describes Max's work as "artfully scratchy cartoons and raw, urban fables that are more fun than dumpster diving." Impressive...

Wall of Sound is located at 315 E. Pine St.

Every time you play the Hold Steady's "Gotta Stay Positive," I find myself reaching for the dial and turning this garbage off. I am getting sick and tired of this daily ritual, friends. Get it together and stop playing Hold Steady.

[Ed: Commenter "Steve Winwood" spends a good deal of time lambasting us in the comments section for failures of a startling range. So we're pleased to see he's using our U-post feature to branch out.]

The documentary New Brow, showing for one more night at the NWFF (7 p.m., 9 p.m.), is an enjoyable if somewhat amateurish fan letter to the Juxtapoz scene. Shot on cheap-looking digital video with tinny sound quality (or maybe it was NWFF's system?), this series of effusive artist testimonials about why they like their own work features copious footage of their distinctive and weird paintings, short and funny cameos by the movement's primary stars--particularly Robert Williams, hilarious and ornery as always--and brief appearances by local luminaries Kirsten Anderson of Roq La Rue, Larry Reid of Fantagraphics, and Seattle's best porcelain weapons manufacturer Charlie Krafft.

As a documentary, New Brow could use some teeth. The "lowbrow" art movement (yeah yeah, "everyone hates that label") came into prominence explicitly because there was a strong need for a kind of art that was more personal and craft-based. This need wasn't met by the exclusive, ostensibly highbrow art world of the post-conceptual, Jeff Koons/Damien Hirst "fake smart" hack variety. No one from that world or any critics of the "lowbrow" type of work appear in this film to comment on the history and dynamic of these different art scenes or make any qualitative judgments about the work on display. As fun and interesting as the "lowbrow" stuff is, even Robert Williams--in an essay for Juxtapoz that I can't find online--has voiced dissent against the stasis and cold comfort of too much kitsch and unquestioning group think. A better documentary would have shared that ethic.