We are very excited to bring you the latest installment of FILTER Magazine!

In this very special issue, we team up with visionary director Spike Jonze to present an exclusive story that involves the many talents, angles, days and nights and ins and outs involved in the making of Jonze’s highly anticipated film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s story, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

As Jonze himself says, “Most of the time, magazine pieces just represent one part of making a movie, and I’m excited about this story because it represents the truer spirit of our film – a group of people who got together to make this thing. It was the experiences of all these people, the talents of all these people…their imaginations and everything inside them that made the movie what it is.”

Let Filter take you behind the scenes and beyond with this talented pack of Wild Things, including interviews with Jonze and soundtrack composer Karen O; star Max Records and Catherine Keener; screenwriter Dave Eggers; actress Catherine O’Hara; documentarian Lance Bangs; never-before-seen photos and art from the film’s set and crew; a cover illustrated by the film’s graphics and titles artist Geoff McFetridge; and much, much more.

Also, we travel back to the early ’90s to reminisce with The Jesus Lizard in celebration of their Touch & Go Record re-releases and reunion tour; legendary graphic artist Vaughan Oliver takes us through the years of the Pixies’ cover art; actor Willem Dafoe and writer/director Lars Von Trier discuss their new sylvan horror film, ANTICHRIST; we talk to Jason Schwartzman about Coconut Records, his new HBO show BORED TO DEATH and his famous friends and family; and Pulitzer Prize winning artist Berkeley Breathed takes us back to his roots in the funny pages.

In addition, we match Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses up with his hero, JJ Cale, to discover how to keep the fortune and forgo the fame; we get refined with The Swell Season; and take a journey into Poland for the OFF FESTIVAL.

Plus: Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, AM, Fool’s Gold, Port O’Brien, Yo La Tengo and a very special EndNote featuring Dave Eggers’ first book. Continue to check back to Filtermagazine.com for more!

Buy:

Where the Wild Things Are on amazon.com

Where the Wild Things Are on amazon.co.uk

Check out Spike Jonze’s post about the issue on his We Love You So blog.

Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack cover art

Filter Issue 37: Karen O and Spike Jonze Discover Where the Wild Things Are on stands September 11, 2009

Filter Magazine Official Website

With the soundtrack’s release in less than a month and lead single, “All Is Love” now available on iTunes, the official cover art for Where The Wild Things Are has now been revealed!

Featuring original music by Karen O, the soundtrack seamlessly marries sound to vision, with the help of some friends and fellow musicians.

Dubbed Karen O and the Kids, the kids include Tristan Bechet (Services), Tom Biller (co-producer with Karen O and member of Afternoons), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), Brian Chase (YYY), Dean Fertita (The Dead Weather), Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather), Oscar Michel (Gris Gris), Imaad Wasif (New Folk Implosion), Nick Zinner, (YYY) and an untrained children’s choir.

Buy:

Where the Wild Things Are on amazon.com

Where the Wild Things Are on amazon.co.uk

Artist: Karen O and the Kids
Album: Where The Wild Things Are Official Soundtrack
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Label: DGC/Interscope

Where the Wild Things Are MySpace
Where the Wild Things Are Official Website

Here we are, with our very first Band Weblogs Stance Awards, 2009.

One thing often overlooked when it comes to Rock ‘N’ Roll and unforgettable live performances, are the many great stances that we’ve seen on stage over the years.

With the Band Weblogs Stance Awards, there is a certain criteria to fill when it comes to picking the best stances on stage – along with a unique formula that we’ve used to determine our Top 5.

Since funds are limited this year, unfortunately, we were unable to give the winner an actual, physical award, but what they can walk away with, is knowing how high in our estimation they are.

After lengthy discussion and consideration, and having to narrow down quite a few great Glastonbury stances to the Top 5, the decisions were made.

Counting down from 5:

5. Karen O – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
With her, shall we say, interesting fashion sense and loyal fans, Karen O never lets us down when it comes to stage stances.

Website: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

4. Alex James – Blur
During his Glastonbury set, bassist Alex James from Blur played a stand-out performance, but it was his stance that took it to another level. He spent a lot of time standing with both feet on the monitor, looking cool, while continuing to play hit after hit.

Website: Blur

3. Tom Jones
What can we say? He’s Tom frickin’ Jones. It was great seeing the legendary singer at Glastonbury. His voice is so good, it tends to overshadow his stage stances, but he’s able to pull both off with ease.

Website: Tom Jones

2. Gareth McGrillen – Pendulum
The second bass player in the Top 5, Gareth McGrillen from the Australian now British-based band Pendulum was a contender from the start. The band probably played one of the best shows at Glastonbury Festival this year, and it was Gareth’s stance that was a surefire stand-out – and it almost got him to #1.

Website: Pendulum

1. Bruce Springsteen
Talk about unforgettable live performances. Bruce Springsteen blew us away. The band was top notch, playing the classic Bruce Springsteen songs we all know and love, like “The River” and “Born To Run” and the couple of songs that I hadn’t heard before, like “Outlaw Pete”, by the end, I was singing along like I’d been listening to them for years. The band played a 2 hour and 40 minute set, breaking the Glastonbury curfew, which just goes to show the passion and dedication that Bruce has for his craft – and his fans. However, it was Bruce’s legendary stage stances, sometimes reminiscent of Joe Strummer, that got him to #1 on this list, and during the long set, we were entertained with countless amounts of them. 5 stars.

Website: Bruce Springsteen