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Grant-Lee Phillips’ Happiness: “Know Your Mushrooms”

grantleephillipsWhether it was as the guitarist who created the gothic-western landscape of Shiva Burlesque 20 years ago, the even bigger guitar sound of Grant Lee Buffalo that rode herd in the ’90s (while he screwed up his courage to get his feet wet as a singer) or his current solo career (a wonderfully diverse summation of most everything that’s come before), Grant-Lee Phillips has become a consummate musician. Little Moon (Yep Roc) is the kind of record you keep playing until the songs refuse to go away, even long after you’ve switched off the electronics. Phillips is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week, Read our Q&A with him.

know_your_mushrooms550Phillips: Know Your Mushrooms by director Ron Mann begs the question, “Do you know your mushrooms? Well, do ya?” I caught this wonderfully engaging, entertaining and informative film at the SXSW Film Festival this year. Ron and I spoke together on a panel out there and got to chat a bit afterward over margaritas. Wild-mushroom foraging is an ancient pursuit and commonplace in many parts of the world. Like most of us, I avoid eating anything growing on my lawn. Nevertheless, Know Your Mushrooms cuts through a lot of the confusion and understandable fear of toadstools in way that puts the fun back in fungi. The original music by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne is also a perfect fit. Video after the jump.