THE HACK: cheap views on pop culture

Music Diary 2012: Day Three

I did the dishes to these tunes:

"Summer Wind" - Frank Sinatra

Am I the only one who thinks of the ending to that Simpsons episode where Martin stands in the middle of his former swimming pool, which is now rubble? A bully rips off Martin's trunks and the kid stands there, naked. "Summer Wind" starts to play and Martin begins singing as the camera pulls away. Credits. Am I?

"Visions of Johanna" - Bob Dylan

Not my favorite Dylan record, but I dig it.

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Aretha Franklin

Aretha somehow feels underrated. You just don't hear much about her.

"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" - Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye gets a lot of love. I wonder what Cameron Crowe's biopic with Will Smith would've been like...

"Peace Like a River" - Paul Simon

My favorite song from Simon is still, unashamedly, "Call Me Al."

"Lively Up Yourself" - Bob Marley and The Wailers

It's Marley, man. I don't think there's a something from him i've disliked.

 

I also read an article about Stephen Frears being this close to directing Queen with Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury. I hope this happens. It really could be something special.

It could also be a train wreck, but I'm hopeful. Anyway, I read this just before leaving work, so on the way home I listened to some Queen classics:

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

"You're My Best Friend"

"Under Pressure"

"I Want to Break Free"

"We Will Rock You"

Not a big day for music. I'm really not good at this.

Music Diary 2012: Day Two

“Live your Life. Live your Life. Live your Life.”

- Maurice Sendak

And, another death. Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are and Pierre were my childhood. As I write this, I have Spike Jonze's adaptation of Wild Things playing on my TV. I love this movie. So...perfect. It's exactly what it wants to be.

And, so is the soundtrack. I really dig Karen O's stuff.

Turns out, a chunk of my music choices are responsive. Case in point: I picked up Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation at Best Buy, and so I felt the need to listen to the soundtrack - just like Wild Things above.

And, damn, what a collection of tunes. I was introduced to both Phoenix ("Too Young") and My Bloody Valentine ("Sometimes") here. A little late, yeah. But, I was technically late to the Beatles, given that I was born nearly two decades after they broke up.

I also find that I'm interested in too many things. Instead if trying to find something new to listen to, I'm reading, or looking for something to watch, or writing, or eating, or writing about watching a movie about people eating. I'm not focused. At all. So, my tastes are fairly superficial.

But, that's fine with me. I love what I love. I'm not going to pretend to like something just because all of the "cool kids" like it, too. Hell, I don't even drink. It's gross. Not going to pretend there. Why pretend with art?

Also, I know it's not music, but I've been listening to the Nerdist podcast recently and have been really enjoying it. Today, I listened to Seth Green and began Kevin Smith.

And, with that...

 

Music Diary 2012: Day One

So, I'm doing this thing again, and I'm going to try and be a bit more...well, I'm going to explore why it is I listen to what I listen to when I listen to it. As for today, I stayed home and listened to Beastie Boys, yet again. Mostly License to Ill. Never would have thought I'd be affected by MCA's death, and yet I was. I mean, I wasn't crying or anything. But, it's got me thinking a lot more than when Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston died. I guess it's because I listened to these guys (and, therefore MCA) a lot more than the other two.

Still, it's been great to re-visit some great hip hop.

Later in the afternoon, I pulled out some old (circa 2002) mix-CDs and listened as I made dinner.

Some thoughts:

• A lot of the stuff on those mixes were borderline Top 40.
• Most of those tunes are from artists that no longer exist.
• There were two live tracks: Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" from Live Era: '87-'93 and Pearl Jam's "Black" from one of their bootlegs
• I hadn't listened to most of these songs in at least five years
• I miss making mix-CDs

I also downloaded some MC Chris tracks. Get 'em for a good cause here: http://mcchris.bandcamp.com/

Also, I listened to a lot of Beastie Boys covers. Download Coldplay doing "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)."

You-Gotta-Fight-For-Your-Right-To-Party-Beastie-Boys-Cover

I kid you not. And, it's not half bad.

Tomorrow, it's home and work. Let's see where my habits take me.

 

the day i first met you

Can't believe I'm looking forward to April 2nd.

My Valentine's Day Tradition

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset

I have traditions whenever "holidays" or Hallmark card days come around, and they all involve movies. For Christmas, I watch Love Actually. On Halloween, I watch...John Carpenter's Halloween. On Groundhog Day, it's Groundhog Day. On July 4th, it's Independence Day (actually, I have watched this in the last few years).

On my birthday, I watch two new movies. I've done this for ten years. This year is the anniversary of that first time.

And so, on V-Day, I watch Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

Years before the second film, I saw the first one on cable (more than likely HBO, but I cannot for the life of me remember), and I immediately loved it. This love, I came to discover, was two-fold: I love dialogue-filled movies, and I'm a sucker for romantic flicks. Hell, I'll even put up with the avergae Hollywood-modern-romantic-comedy.

Thankfully, these movies are actually great. I love them, from beginning to end. From the opening shots of Vienna to Celine doing her Nina Simone impression, I love these films so damn much.

The first film is made up of many conversations between the two. It's romantic as hell, and it ends in a cliffhanger made so that cynics and optimists get something out of the movie. I loved it. Even as a tween (long before the word existed), I loved the film. And, I did believe they met six months later.

Within the second film's ten minutes, we learn that SPOILER ALERT they did not meet up. And, here we are, nine years later, and they are meeting for the first time since then.

Before Sunset is made up of one conversation. Jesse has a flight to catch, so the two talk for about seventy minutes. It feels like what it is: a mature sequel to a young, romantic story about young, romantic people. As we grow old, and we live, we change. And, yet, we don't. That's what the movie gets right. Clearly, these two have grown as individuals, but together once again, they fall right into the rhythm of talking. And, talking is what makes them what they are.

Jesse and Celine love one another. We know this because they talk. More than that, we know this because how they talk, and how no matter what (he really needs to catch that flight), they will keep talking. They want to be around each other.

And, that's beautiful to me. And, that's why I watch these movies every February 14th.

Just In Time

"Together we will live forever."

Clint Mansell

Karen Cartwright

Katharine McPhee - Beautiful (Smash Cast )

Where was I in 1991?

Oh, yeah. I was seven.

The following rock albums were released in the latter half of 1991.

Achtung Baby - U2

Metallica (The Black Album) - Metallica

Nevermind - Nirvana

Ten - Pearl Jam

Use Your Illusion I & II - Guns N' Roses

This year marks the 20th anniversary of all six of these records. Truly amazing.

"And, your heart's the moon."

 

"You better believe I fear God."

Red State (2011)

Some bitched. Others praised. Me? I dug the hell out of it. 

 

Writer-director (and don't forget "editor") Kevin Smith was correct. Michael Parks does, indeed, deserve an Oscar nod - at the very least - for his work as Aben Cooper.

I'd also say Melissa Leo and Kerry Bishe, the latter of whom blew me away, mainly because all I knew her from was the "final" season of Scrubs. Here, she showed her range.

And, quite frankly, Smith also deserves some praise for his editing. One moment in particular stands out: two characters die early on and we witness the reaction to the gunshots from multiple points-of-view. It's a great moment.

All I can say is this: go in with as little info as possible. The shocks come and they come and they come.

Kevin Smith has made something truly memorable. At least, to this viewer.

5 out of 5