This week’s release of Her Space Holiday‘s 10-track, self-titled album marks the end of the one-man musical project that Marc Bianchi started back in 1996. Fittingly, HSH’s final album is also the first on the Austin-based Bianchi’s No More Good Ideas label. While he has some live dates set to support the LP, the genre-defying musician mostly plans for the album to be the closing statement from HSH, who over the past decade and a half has also remixed tracks by the likes of R.E.M., Bright Eyes, Elastica and the Faint. Bianchi can now add MAGNET guest editor to his already-impressive resume, as that’s what he’ll be doing all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Bianchi: Let’s say you make a movie. It’s a massive massive hit. A period piece with lavish sets and costumes. It’s stocked with a brilliant cast that includes some of the most respected names in the business, as well as some of the hottest newcomers. Oh, and on top of box office success, your film also receives academy awards for best picture, best actor and best screenplay. That’s all well and good, right? But how the hell do you make another movie after that? How can you top that level of success and grandeur?
Well, if you are Francis Ford Coppola, you take two years off after making The Godfather and come back to destroy all expectations by delivering a simple, understated film called The Conversation. It stars Gene Hackman and John Cazale as surveillance experts who are hired to keep tabs on a young couple. I am not going to go into detail about the plot (in case anyone who reads this has not seen the film but may someday down the road). However, I will say this: The performances and plot are incredibly engaging. Like a great piece of Hitchcock, this film is lean and tense. Even though on the surface it will seem like not much action is taking place, the film has its hooks in you and won’t let go, even after the movie has stopped.
