For this list, I'm being a little lazy. No explanations, no descriptions, just a list with links. Oh, and when I do a top songs list, I only have artists represented once. Did I think "Summertime Clothes" from Animal Collective was a better song than, say, #21 or #24 on my list? Yeah, but if I did repeats, it'd be all The xx, Animal Collective and Fuck Buttons and that would be boring. So, now that you know the rules...
1. The xx - Crystalised
2. Animal Collective - My Girls
3. Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar/Olympians/Flight of the Feathered Serpent (pick one, because I couldn't)
4. The Raveonettes - Last Dance
5. The Big Pink - Velvet
6. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
7. Neko Case - People Got a Lotta Nerve
8. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Tenure Itch
9. Phoenix - 1901
10. Empire of the Sun - Walking On a Dream
11. Passion Pit - Little Secrets
12. Wild Light - California On My Mind
13. Discovery - Can You Discover?
14. Miike Snow - Animal (Treasure Fingers Remix)
15. Camera Obscura - French Navy
16. Au Revoir Simone - Knight of Wands
17. Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc.
18. Julian Plenti - Games For Days
19. Thunderheist - Sweet 16
20. Fever Ray - Seven
21. Japandroids - Heart Sweats
22. Jack Peñate - Pull My Heart Away
23. Röyksopp - The Girl and the Robot
24. Bat For Lashes - Daniel
25. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (Filmed in SF! Hey, that's my friend, Nako, at the 4:00 mark! Whoa!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Top 10 Movies of 2009
Let me start by saying that I was just not with it this year when it came to movies. I saw maybe 1/3 of what I did in '08. Like an idiot, I was on vacation during the Chicago International Film Festival, which can never happen again. There were so many movies I missed, I considered doing a Top 5, but when I looked at my final 10, it wasn't like there were any stinkers on there, so I stayed with the regular number. I vow to come back strong in '10, or as the Colbert Report is saying in their Winter Olympics pieces, '010 (oh-ten). I'll get back to that point in '010 where I basically see everything that Ebert and/or Phillips gives 3.5 or 4 stars to, most of the "Critics' Choice" picks in The Reader, and the occasional recommendation from people I trust. It will happen. First up on the '010 list is "Crazy Heart." I'll let you know how it goes on Facebook, or something. Now, without any more excuses, my Top 10 movies of 2009.
1. Inglorious Basterds
When you pay to see a movie in the theaters twice, and don't do it with any other films in a given year, that's gotta be number one, right? I saw it here in Chicago, loved every minute of it, and decided that my dad needed to see the movie on a visit home to California. You see, if I TELL my dad to go see the movie, he won't do it. If I tell him to have my mom put it on their Netflix queue, he won't do it. The only way he'll see it is when it happens to be on TNT or Spike TV in six years, with commercials, with edited content, and I wasn't about to let that happen, so I saw it twice, just so my dad could have the experience of seeing Tarantino's best film since "Pulp Fiction." Christoph Waltz made the movie. Tarantino's character was an SD officer fluent in German, English, French and Italian, so what did he do? He went and got a brilliant actor (Waltz) fluent in German, English and French. Apparently, he learned the Italian for the few scenes that it was needed in, but still a pretty good find, right?! He won Best Actor at Cannes, and he should also win it at the Oscars. Or, Best Supporting Actor, maybe? I don't know which category he's going to be in, but when you tell people on countless occasions that he's worth the price of admission alone? He needs to win. Oh, and they managed to get Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" in there too. Can't go wrong with that.
2. Julia
When you mention to people that this is one of the best movies of '09, they automatically think of that Julia Child movie, and who can blame them? This movie was at Facets for one week, as far as I know, and that was it. Tilda Swinton plays an out of control alcoholic whose behavior you might find to be both appalling and depressing, and, for a scene or two, rivals Nic Cage's character in "Leaving Las Vegas" in terms of self-destructiveness. Is that even a word? Did I just make up a word? Well, what I'm saying is that she's so fucking sad and gross in this movie that you may resort to making up words to describe her antics. I'm not going to ruin this movie for you by giving up the plot or telling you ahead of time where it goes or what to expect, but I will say that if you want to see an actor that seems to be making movies because they're good movies, and doesn't seem to have any regard or care for how much money they're going to make (because this movie sure as hell didn't make the kind of money it could or should have), see Tilda Swinton in "Julia."
3. Food Inc.
OK, check this out. This is not at #3 because it was a well made film. It's a pretty standard documentary, actually. It's at #3 because of the subject. Holy crap. Yeah, we all know that McDonald's and Pizza Hut is awful food. Actually, it's not even right to use the word "food" when it comes to that stuff. But this goes so much further than a "Super Size Me," because it starts to get into how food is manufactured, where it comes from, and how the current system came to be. Why are cows fed corn when they've evolved to eat grass? Why the hell does corn need to be in what seems like everything? Who wants Type 2 Diabetes?! Anyone? What's up with high fructose corn syrup? When we eat more fruits and vegetables like the doc says to, is that even a good thing when the apples come from New Zealand? Let me put it to you this way. When the year began, I weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 215. I'm 185 now. I was always active and exercising every day, and I thought that would offset any garbage that I was eating. I was wrong. People have said to me that they don't want to see this movie or read up on the subject because they're afraid of what they might discover. One person said that they're a "food lover" and that seeing "Food Inc." would be a bad thing, but nothing could be further from the truth. Seeing this movie and learning more about the subject of what we eat and where it comes from can only strengthen and benefit your relationship with the food you eat. You'll eat better food that's better for you. Am I getting too preachy here? Oh, and just because it says "organic" on the label doesn't make it so, but that's another story.
4. Departures
It won Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars, which honored films from 2008, but it wasn't released in the U.S. until 2009, so it goes on my 2009 list. It takes a year for films to get here from Japan, I guess. What's up with touching dead people in Japan? Why are they so freaked out about it? The guy's just trying to earn a living, people! And if your wife is gonna be so dumb about stuff, then just let her walk.
5. Gran Torino
Walt Kowalski. Is that the perfect name for an old guy from Michigan who used to work for Ford and fought in Korea? What's not to like about an older guy taking a shy kid under his wing and teaching him to not be such a pussy? Walt throws down PBRs on his front porch all day, growls at the neighbors and anyone that messes with his lawn or property, has bad relationships with his own children, and appears so pissed off and angry that he's incapable of any compassion, especially when it comes to the Asian family next door to him, but guess what? He actually is a good guy. Of course he is. He's a damn good guy, actually. The kind of guy I'd like to have PBRs with. And if he could teach me to not be such a pussy, that would be cool too. He also has every tool you could ever need in his garage.
6. Milk
What an opening montage. Police raiding gay bars in the 50s and 60s? So depressing. Some of the bullshit that people have had to put up with over the years because of sexual orientation is something that can be hard to wrap your head around. It makes me think of all these ballot initiatives banning same-sex marriage in the past few years. In California? Of all places? Really? Some say that if voters approve a ban of same-sex marriage, then it should simply not be allowed. The voters have spoken. What a bunch of bullshit. If you asked voters in Mississippi in 1964 to vote on integrating the schools, how would that have turned out? In my mind, this is exactly the same. A large number of people holding on to irrational fears and prejudices stemming partly from twisted interpretations of religious teachings, blah blah blah... Still a large number, yes. Obviously enough to pass a same-sex marriage ballot initiative in California, but that number isn't nearly as high as it would've been 30 years ago. It's only a matter of time before same-sex couples have all the rights that the "opposite marriage" people enjoy. Anyway, an important movie about an important figure. See it if you haven't already.
7. The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke! Dude, where ya been?! Was there ever a more perfect actor for a part than this? "Mickey, we want you to play an over-the-hill performer whose best days are behind him and who's a little shredded looking, physically. Can you do that?" Doye. I remember first reading about this film when Bill Simmons wrote about it. I couldn't wait to see it. Good night, too. My Morning Jacket @ The Chicago Theatre, then over to River East to see Randy "The Ram" Robinson fight nearly to his death in a hardcore match with ladders, barbed wire and a mothereffing staple gun?! You gotta be kidding me!
8. The Hurt Locker
There's been a lot of Oscar buzz with this film lately. Like, Best Picture buzz. Hey, if you like tension, this is all you. Have you ever heard in the past about how some soldiers in frontline combat situations just sort of consider themselves to already be dead and if they come out okay on the other end it's like some kind of bonus? That's definitely the way you'd need to approach the job of our protagonist, which just so happens to be the cheery pastime of dismantling improvised explosive devices in Iraq. This will give you a panic attack just watching it.
9. The Reader
What do you know? Another excellent movie based on a book that I never read! "No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Atonement," to name a few. Moral of the story? It can't hurt to read fiction once in a while. I vow to do more of this. Back to the film... One thing I thought of while watching "The Reader" was the situation that some of the German people were in when the Nazis were in power. I mean, what do you do? You can't speak out against them, right? And in some situations, they had to be the only ones offering employment, right? So you take a job, and because you're working for the Nazis, you're probably put in some situations that don't really jive with your beliefs and values, but again, you can't really speak out, so you try to keep from being killed by the Nazis for insubordination, which means that after the war some of the people that were screwed by the Nazis are gonna try to screw you. Not a very good few years for the Germans, huh?
10. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
A real life "This Is Spinal Tap" with tears.
1. Inglorious Basterds
When you pay to see a movie in the theaters twice, and don't do it with any other films in a given year, that's gotta be number one, right? I saw it here in Chicago, loved every minute of it, and decided that my dad needed to see the movie on a visit home to California. You see, if I TELL my dad to go see the movie, he won't do it. If I tell him to have my mom put it on their Netflix queue, he won't do it. The only way he'll see it is when it happens to be on TNT or Spike TV in six years, with commercials, with edited content, and I wasn't about to let that happen, so I saw it twice, just so my dad could have the experience of seeing Tarantino's best film since "Pulp Fiction." Christoph Waltz made the movie. Tarantino's character was an SD officer fluent in German, English, French and Italian, so what did he do? He went and got a brilliant actor (Waltz) fluent in German, English and French. Apparently, he learned the Italian for the few scenes that it was needed in, but still a pretty good find, right?! He won Best Actor at Cannes, and he should also win it at the Oscars. Or, Best Supporting Actor, maybe? I don't know which category he's going to be in, but when you tell people on countless occasions that he's worth the price of admission alone? He needs to win. Oh, and they managed to get Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" in there too. Can't go wrong with that.
2. Julia
When you mention to people that this is one of the best movies of '09, they automatically think of that Julia Child movie, and who can blame them? This movie was at Facets for one week, as far as I know, and that was it. Tilda Swinton plays an out of control alcoholic whose behavior you might find to be both appalling and depressing, and, for a scene or two, rivals Nic Cage's character in "Leaving Las Vegas" in terms of self-destructiveness. Is that even a word? Did I just make up a word? Well, what I'm saying is that she's so fucking sad and gross in this movie that you may resort to making up words to describe her antics. I'm not going to ruin this movie for you by giving up the plot or telling you ahead of time where it goes or what to expect, but I will say that if you want to see an actor that seems to be making movies because they're good movies, and doesn't seem to have any regard or care for how much money they're going to make (because this movie sure as hell didn't make the kind of money it could or should have), see Tilda Swinton in "Julia."
3. Food Inc.
OK, check this out. This is not at #3 because it was a well made film. It's a pretty standard documentary, actually. It's at #3 because of the subject. Holy crap. Yeah, we all know that McDonald's and Pizza Hut is awful food. Actually, it's not even right to use the word "food" when it comes to that stuff. But this goes so much further than a "Super Size Me," because it starts to get into how food is manufactured, where it comes from, and how the current system came to be. Why are cows fed corn when they've evolved to eat grass? Why the hell does corn need to be in what seems like everything? Who wants Type 2 Diabetes?! Anyone? What's up with high fructose corn syrup? When we eat more fruits and vegetables like the doc says to, is that even a good thing when the apples come from New Zealand? Let me put it to you this way. When the year began, I weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 215. I'm 185 now. I was always active and exercising every day, and I thought that would offset any garbage that I was eating. I was wrong. People have said to me that they don't want to see this movie or read up on the subject because they're afraid of what they might discover. One person said that they're a "food lover" and that seeing "Food Inc." would be a bad thing, but nothing could be further from the truth. Seeing this movie and learning more about the subject of what we eat and where it comes from can only strengthen and benefit your relationship with the food you eat. You'll eat better food that's better for you. Am I getting too preachy here? Oh, and just because it says "organic" on the label doesn't make it so, but that's another story.
4. Departures
It won Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars, which honored films from 2008, but it wasn't released in the U.S. until 2009, so it goes on my 2009 list. It takes a year for films to get here from Japan, I guess. What's up with touching dead people in Japan? Why are they so freaked out about it? The guy's just trying to earn a living, people! And if your wife is gonna be so dumb about stuff, then just let her walk.
5. Gran Torino
Walt Kowalski. Is that the perfect name for an old guy from Michigan who used to work for Ford and fought in Korea? What's not to like about an older guy taking a shy kid under his wing and teaching him to not be such a pussy? Walt throws down PBRs on his front porch all day, growls at the neighbors and anyone that messes with his lawn or property, has bad relationships with his own children, and appears so pissed off and angry that he's incapable of any compassion, especially when it comes to the Asian family next door to him, but guess what? He actually is a good guy. Of course he is. He's a damn good guy, actually. The kind of guy I'd like to have PBRs with. And if he could teach me to not be such a pussy, that would be cool too. He also has every tool you could ever need in his garage.
6. Milk
What an opening montage. Police raiding gay bars in the 50s and 60s? So depressing. Some of the bullshit that people have had to put up with over the years because of sexual orientation is something that can be hard to wrap your head around. It makes me think of all these ballot initiatives banning same-sex marriage in the past few years. In California? Of all places? Really? Some say that if voters approve a ban of same-sex marriage, then it should simply not be allowed. The voters have spoken. What a bunch of bullshit. If you asked voters in Mississippi in 1964 to vote on integrating the schools, how would that have turned out? In my mind, this is exactly the same. A large number of people holding on to irrational fears and prejudices stemming partly from twisted interpretations of religious teachings, blah blah blah... Still a large number, yes. Obviously enough to pass a same-sex marriage ballot initiative in California, but that number isn't nearly as high as it would've been 30 years ago. It's only a matter of time before same-sex couples have all the rights that the "opposite marriage" people enjoy. Anyway, an important movie about an important figure. See it if you haven't already.
7. The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke! Dude, where ya been?! Was there ever a more perfect actor for a part than this? "Mickey, we want you to play an over-the-hill performer whose best days are behind him and who's a little shredded looking, physically. Can you do that?" Doye. I remember first reading about this film when Bill Simmons wrote about it. I couldn't wait to see it. Good night, too. My Morning Jacket @ The Chicago Theatre, then over to River East to see Randy "The Ram" Robinson fight nearly to his death in a hardcore match with ladders, barbed wire and a mothereffing staple gun?! You gotta be kidding me!
8. The Hurt Locker
There's been a lot of Oscar buzz with this film lately. Like, Best Picture buzz. Hey, if you like tension, this is all you. Have you ever heard in the past about how some soldiers in frontline combat situations just sort of consider themselves to already be dead and if they come out okay on the other end it's like some kind of bonus? That's definitely the way you'd need to approach the job of our protagonist, which just so happens to be the cheery pastime of dismantling improvised explosive devices in Iraq. This will give you a panic attack just watching it.
9. The Reader
What do you know? Another excellent movie based on a book that I never read! "No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Atonement," to name a few. Moral of the story? It can't hurt to read fiction once in a while. I vow to do more of this. Back to the film... One thing I thought of while watching "The Reader" was the situation that some of the German people were in when the Nazis were in power. I mean, what do you do? You can't speak out against them, right? And in some situations, they had to be the only ones offering employment, right? So you take a job, and because you're working for the Nazis, you're probably put in some situations that don't really jive with your beliefs and values, but again, you can't really speak out, so you try to keep from being killed by the Nazis for insubordination, which means that after the war some of the people that were screwed by the Nazis are gonna try to screw you. Not a very good few years for the Germans, huh?
10. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
A real life "This Is Spinal Tap" with tears.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Top 10 Albums of 2009
I'm such a horrible writer, but I'm more than willing to put my ninth grade skills on display for the world to see if it means having the chance to sell you on a few of my favorite releases for the past year. And when I say "world to see," that means the 9 or 10 people that will access this entry. Let's go!
1. The xx - xx
What to say about a bunch of 20 year-olds that put out the best album of 2009? Which way does the band go? What happens next? Part of you wants to say that there's no way in hell that they could ever top this one, that it was lightning in a bottle, that the planets aligned perfectly for them to produce such a fine album... On the other hand, looking at their age? They were TWENTY YEARS OLD when they made it, so there's nowhere to go but up, right? After seeing them @ Bottom Lounge on 12/1, I can say that their live show will probably be a lot better when they come back around in April opening for Hot Chip @ The Riv and playing their own gig @ the new Lincoln Hall. Not that their set was bad in any way, I'm just saying that being as young as they are, they'll have more reps under their belt, the album, hopefully, will have gained some momentum, and they'll be one of the hottest tickets in town that week, so I'm thinking that when all those factors add up we'll be seeing a band on the rise, even more so than we did back in early December. Male/female vocals, lots of songs about sex, simple, catchy, sometimes dark riffs and melodies are just a few of the reasons these songs were so easy to get into. I thought that "Intro" set up the album perfectly, especially hearing it for the first time on the iPod walking down a quiet street at night as the weather began to turn cool in early Chicago fall, and by the time "Crystalised" finished up, I knew this was gonna be a contender for #1. They turned me into a salesman. I had to limit the spins I gave this album just to protect myself from burning out on it. I had to ration The xx! I wouldn't shut up about this album for weeks and weeks. I told anyone I knew that would listen to get it for themselves. I had an extra promo copy that I gave to a friend of mine one night and 5 minutes after she left the bar, on her drive home I got a text that read, "holy shit." It was my musical obsession for months until I finally got the Fuck Buttons album.
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Everyone's #1 album of 2009. When Marty Lennartz was telling me about it at the tail end of 2008, he mentioned that some people were already calling it the best album of 2009, AND IT WASN'T EVEN 2009 YET. How do you live up to hype like that? Oh, right, you're named Animal Collective. Pissed off that I missed 'em early in '09 @ Metro and then missed them again @ Lollapalooza. I can't remember what I was doing that caused me to miss their set at Lollapalooza. I sure as hell hope it wasn't because of this interview. That wouldn't have been a very good tradeoff. Oh, and not only did Animal Collective give us a legendary album in '09, they also found time to release an EP called "Fall Be Kind," that, yes, you guessed it, is brilliant. I had a blast playing "Summertime Clothes" and "My Girls" on XRT a bunch this year, and if you got sick of me slurping this album on the radio over and over again, my apologies, but if you have it, I'm sure you understand.
3. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
WHAT?! THE?! FUCK?! I had their "Street Horrsing" release from 2008 and liked it a lot, especially "Okay, Let's Talk About Magic," but nothing prepared me for this. So many nice things to say about this band. First, their live show in November at The Empty Bottle. I mean, how interesting can two dudes pushing buttons and twisting knobs be live? When the music is as genius and as beautiful as theirs can be, to me, it doesn't really matter how they get it out. They could have the whole damn show pre-recorded on a laptop, hit the play button and fake it for all I care. Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power floored me with this release. This band's sound is incredible. They made me smile when I'd play the '08 release for someone that just couldn't get past their sometimes shockingly abrasive sound, but with this album, someone that wasn't getting 'em before has a chance. You'd think that "The Lisbon Maru" and "Olympians" have most likely pulled some people in that weren't feeling this band before. The beauty of those two songs is immeasurable. I fucking wish I could create something like that.
4. The Raveonettes - In & Out of Control
An album that made me realize how much I liked this band. I'd always liked The Raveonettes but maybe I'd been taking them for granted. Describe to me your sound again. You're part Ronettes and part Jesus & Mary Chain? I'm so in. When the good folks at Terrorbird sent me the first single, "Last Dance," I listened to it eight or nine times that first night. I can remember that night well. It included a nice walk from my place to Liar's Club where some asshole tried to steal a 20 of mine off the bar right in front of me. Have you ever even heard of that? What a bitch. His friend then asked me to step outside, obviously part of a crew of fuckheads looking to start shit with people that night, and even though I know everyone well at that place, the thought of getting pummeled by 4 or 5 guys wasn't too appealing, mostly because it probably would've interfered with the walk home I was looking forward to later that night that would include another 2 or 3 spins for "Last Dance." That, and I'm not much of a fighter. So, I blew it off and DID get to walk home in one piece, and I DID enjoy "Last Dance" 2 or 3 more times. Also, looking at the song titles when I first got the full album, there was one that stuck out more than any other. It was, "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)." Huh? What were they trying to do here? Yeah, we can all agree on that, but how do they fit that message into a song? Can the song be good? Will a strong, heartfelt message be clumsily crammed into an album of pop gems? Not only did they make it work, but it happens to be one of the best songs on the album. Why was I doubting this band? Haven't I learned my lesson yet? Oh, and they're Danish. Big fan of the northern Euro bands. There are a couple others on this list. Of course there is.
5. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Who likes pop? Uh, I do. Who likes Teenage Fanclub? Who likes James? Who likes Ride? Uh, I do, I do and I do. They liked the cornbread muffins I hooked 'em up with @ Pitchfork, too. What kind of hack needs props to interview a band? Uh, I do.
6. The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love
"Talks of future with you caves me in." Uh, did I write that? No, and I'm not a huge lyrics guy, but lines like that one and, "As soon as I love her it's been too long," and, "You call out my name for the love you need, which you won't find in me," hit a little close to home in '09. Let's just move on.
7. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Excellent set from this band @ Schubas on 10/9. What I remember most about it was having a light bulb, smack in the face moment, realizing during their set how nice it is for bands to come along now and again that remind me how much I actually like rock. What's going on here?! No synth-pop? No shoegazing psychedelics? An audience that isn't completely silent and motionless at their live show?! What is this? Oh, it's just a rock 'n' roll band. I almost forgot how rad they can be.
8. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Speaking of live shows, Fever Ray played Metro on 10/3 and it took me a few songs to remember something about her. About the third song in, amidst the smokescreen and lasers, I remembered that as part of The Knife, Karin Dreijer had this thing about not being seen. Apparently, that carries over to her live performances under the name Fever Ray. Once you get past the fact that there isn't too much to look at, it's becomes about settling in and enjoying the brilliance of her music. And root for Sweden! Abba, I'm From Barcelona, Refused, Peter, Bjorn & John, Shout Out Louds, Lykke Li, The Cardigans, The Sounds, Jens Lekman, Air France, The Legends, The Concretes... Wait a second. A little research shows that the Consulate General of Sweden states that "Sweden is the third largest exporter of music worldwide, behind the U.S. and the U.K." Well, alright! Like I said, root for Sweden!
9. Miike Snow - Miike Snow
Another Swedish export. The Consulate General wasn't fucking around. A band that made everyone smile at the Empty Bottle back on 9/25. That was actually the first time I'd seen them, and it was only because I was there to see the opener, Jack Penate, who actually just missed this list. He's crushed, I'm sure. Not only does another Swedish act make my list, but another Swedish act that's been known to wear masks onstage! (Fever Ray being the other) Whoa! Swedish mask wearers are taking over. More electropop, too. Japandroids and The Big Pink almost had this looking like a rock 'n' roll album list. They'll be back in Chicago on 4/5/10 @ Metro, and do yourself a favor and find the Treasure Fingers remix of "Animal." It's a jam.
10. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
I can honestly understand if someone wasn't getting this album. Grizzly Bear isn't for everyone (maybe a little too sleepy, I guess?), but if some of those same people got to see their sets at Metro at the end of September, they could've been had. The crowd was silent, courteous, and appreciative on those nights. Like, Old Town School quiet. They were there to see and HEAR the band play their songs. The first time I heard "Two Weeks," which was almost assuredly on KCRW w/Mr. Bentley, I stopped what I was doing, found it online, downloaded it immediately, burned copies for Norm (my Program Director), John (Music Director), and Marty (who had it already, I think) and said that we needed to play it ASAP, and that it was the best song I'd heard so far in '09. We did play it a few times, but "Cheerleader" ended up being the song that we spun the most. They played the Pitchfork Music Fest in Union Park back in July and re-recorded one of their songs with Michael McDonald, for crying out loud! How can a year get any better than that?! Oh, and another remix alert... The Fred Falke mixes of "Two Weeks" are incredible.
Top 10 Movies of 2009 coming soon! And if I get off my ass, a top 10 or 25 albums of the decade list, too. Oh, and top 25 songs of 2009 will be up in the next day or two.
Enjoy the winter.
1. The xx - xx
What to say about a bunch of 20 year-olds that put out the best album of 2009? Which way does the band go? What happens next? Part of you wants to say that there's no way in hell that they could ever top this one, that it was lightning in a bottle, that the planets aligned perfectly for them to produce such a fine album... On the other hand, looking at their age? They were TWENTY YEARS OLD when they made it, so there's nowhere to go but up, right? After seeing them @ Bottom Lounge on 12/1, I can say that their live show will probably be a lot better when they come back around in April opening for Hot Chip @ The Riv and playing their own gig @ the new Lincoln Hall. Not that their set was bad in any way, I'm just saying that being as young as they are, they'll have more reps under their belt, the album, hopefully, will have gained some momentum, and they'll be one of the hottest tickets in town that week, so I'm thinking that when all those factors add up we'll be seeing a band on the rise, even more so than we did back in early December. Male/female vocals, lots of songs about sex, simple, catchy, sometimes dark riffs and melodies are just a few of the reasons these songs were so easy to get into. I thought that "Intro" set up the album perfectly, especially hearing it for the first time on the iPod walking down a quiet street at night as the weather began to turn cool in early Chicago fall, and by the time "Crystalised" finished up, I knew this was gonna be a contender for #1. They turned me into a salesman. I had to limit the spins I gave this album just to protect myself from burning out on it. I had to ration The xx! I wouldn't shut up about this album for weeks and weeks. I told anyone I knew that would listen to get it for themselves. I had an extra promo copy that I gave to a friend of mine one night and 5 minutes after she left the bar, on her drive home I got a text that read, "holy shit." It was my musical obsession for months until I finally got the Fuck Buttons album.
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Everyone's #1 album of 2009. When Marty Lennartz was telling me about it at the tail end of 2008, he mentioned that some people were already calling it the best album of 2009, AND IT WASN'T EVEN 2009 YET. How do you live up to hype like that? Oh, right, you're named Animal Collective. Pissed off that I missed 'em early in '09 @ Metro and then missed them again @ Lollapalooza. I can't remember what I was doing that caused me to miss their set at Lollapalooza. I sure as hell hope it wasn't because of this interview. That wouldn't have been a very good tradeoff. Oh, and not only did Animal Collective give us a legendary album in '09, they also found time to release an EP called "Fall Be Kind," that, yes, you guessed it, is brilliant. I had a blast playing "Summertime Clothes" and "My Girls" on XRT a bunch this year, and if you got sick of me slurping this album on the radio over and over again, my apologies, but if you have it, I'm sure you understand.
3. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
WHAT?! THE?! FUCK?! I had their "Street Horrsing" release from 2008 and liked it a lot, especially "Okay, Let's Talk About Magic," but nothing prepared me for this. So many nice things to say about this band. First, their live show in November at The Empty Bottle. I mean, how interesting can two dudes pushing buttons and twisting knobs be live? When the music is as genius and as beautiful as theirs can be, to me, it doesn't really matter how they get it out. They could have the whole damn show pre-recorded on a laptop, hit the play button and fake it for all I care. Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power floored me with this release. This band's sound is incredible. They made me smile when I'd play the '08 release for someone that just couldn't get past their sometimes shockingly abrasive sound, but with this album, someone that wasn't getting 'em before has a chance. You'd think that "The Lisbon Maru" and "Olympians" have most likely pulled some people in that weren't feeling this band before. The beauty of those two songs is immeasurable. I fucking wish I could create something like that.
4. The Raveonettes - In & Out of Control
An album that made me realize how much I liked this band. I'd always liked The Raveonettes but maybe I'd been taking them for granted. Describe to me your sound again. You're part Ronettes and part Jesus & Mary Chain? I'm so in. When the good folks at Terrorbird sent me the first single, "Last Dance," I listened to it eight or nine times that first night. I can remember that night well. It included a nice walk from my place to Liar's Club where some asshole tried to steal a 20 of mine off the bar right in front of me. Have you ever even heard of that? What a bitch. His friend then asked me to step outside, obviously part of a crew of fuckheads looking to start shit with people that night, and even though I know everyone well at that place, the thought of getting pummeled by 4 or 5 guys wasn't too appealing, mostly because it probably would've interfered with the walk home I was looking forward to later that night that would include another 2 or 3 spins for "Last Dance." That, and I'm not much of a fighter. So, I blew it off and DID get to walk home in one piece, and I DID enjoy "Last Dance" 2 or 3 more times. Also, looking at the song titles when I first got the full album, there was one that stuck out more than any other. It was, "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)." Huh? What were they trying to do here? Yeah, we can all agree on that, but how do they fit that message into a song? Can the song be good? Will a strong, heartfelt message be clumsily crammed into an album of pop gems? Not only did they make it work, but it happens to be one of the best songs on the album. Why was I doubting this band? Haven't I learned my lesson yet? Oh, and they're Danish. Big fan of the northern Euro bands. There are a couple others on this list. Of course there is.
5. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Who likes pop? Uh, I do. Who likes Teenage Fanclub? Who likes James? Who likes Ride? Uh, I do, I do and I do. They liked the cornbread muffins I hooked 'em up with @ Pitchfork, too. What kind of hack needs props to interview a band? Uh, I do.
6. The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love
"Talks of future with you caves me in." Uh, did I write that? No, and I'm not a huge lyrics guy, but lines like that one and, "As soon as I love her it's been too long," and, "You call out my name for the love you need, which you won't find in me," hit a little close to home in '09. Let's just move on.
7. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Excellent set from this band @ Schubas on 10/9. What I remember most about it was having a light bulb, smack in the face moment, realizing during their set how nice it is for bands to come along now and again that remind me how much I actually like rock. What's going on here?! No synth-pop? No shoegazing psychedelics? An audience that isn't completely silent and motionless at their live show?! What is this? Oh, it's just a rock 'n' roll band. I almost forgot how rad they can be.
8. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Speaking of live shows, Fever Ray played Metro on 10/3 and it took me a few songs to remember something about her. About the third song in, amidst the smokescreen and lasers, I remembered that as part of The Knife, Karin Dreijer had this thing about not being seen. Apparently, that carries over to her live performances under the name Fever Ray. Once you get past the fact that there isn't too much to look at, it's becomes about settling in and enjoying the brilliance of her music. And root for Sweden! Abba, I'm From Barcelona, Refused, Peter, Bjorn & John, Shout Out Louds, Lykke Li, The Cardigans, The Sounds, Jens Lekman, Air France, The Legends, The Concretes... Wait a second. A little research shows that the Consulate General of Sweden states that "Sweden is the third largest exporter of music worldwide, behind the U.S. and the U.K." Well, alright! Like I said, root for Sweden!
9. Miike Snow - Miike Snow
Another Swedish export. The Consulate General wasn't fucking around. A band that made everyone smile at the Empty Bottle back on 9/25. That was actually the first time I'd seen them, and it was only because I was there to see the opener, Jack Penate, who actually just missed this list. He's crushed, I'm sure. Not only does another Swedish act make my list, but another Swedish act that's been known to wear masks onstage! (Fever Ray being the other) Whoa! Swedish mask wearers are taking over. More electropop, too. Japandroids and The Big Pink almost had this looking like a rock 'n' roll album list. They'll be back in Chicago on 4/5/10 @ Metro, and do yourself a favor and find the Treasure Fingers remix of "Animal." It's a jam.
10. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
I can honestly understand if someone wasn't getting this album. Grizzly Bear isn't for everyone (maybe a little too sleepy, I guess?), but if some of those same people got to see their sets at Metro at the end of September, they could've been had. The crowd was silent, courteous, and appreciative on those nights. Like, Old Town School quiet. They were there to see and HEAR the band play their songs. The first time I heard "Two Weeks," which was almost assuredly on KCRW w/Mr. Bentley, I stopped what I was doing, found it online, downloaded it immediately, burned copies for Norm (my Program Director), John (Music Director), and Marty (who had it already, I think) and said that we needed to play it ASAP, and that it was the best song I'd heard so far in '09. We did play it a few times, but "Cheerleader" ended up being the song that we spun the most. They played the Pitchfork Music Fest in Union Park back in July and re-recorded one of their songs with Michael McDonald, for crying out loud! How can a year get any better than that?! Oh, and another remix alert... The Fred Falke mixes of "Two Weeks" are incredible.
Top 10 Movies of 2009 coming soon! And if I get off my ass, a top 10 or 25 albums of the decade list, too. Oh, and top 25 songs of 2009 will be up in the next day or two.
Enjoy the winter.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Facebook/Twitter
I've been way lazy lately with longer posts (but not as lazy as the asshole above). I find myself posting more stuff on Facebook and I'm just getting the Twitter going, so if you're actually interested in the few, simple thoughts I have from time to time, see below.
I'll still post longer stuff here, but for the quick hits, those two are the way to go.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Grizzly Bear!
Song from the new album, "Veckatimest."
Pretty catchy remix, too!
And a free download from their website! It's called, "Cheerleader."
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
KKFOS
Can someone tell me why I've never seen "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" before? I dig B movies. "Death Race 2000," "Evil Dead 2," "The Warriors," "Escape From New York," "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls" (The clip describes Russ Meyer as "240 pounds of creative energy." Top that!)..... So, why the hell have I never seen KKFOS?!? Came across it tonight on Chiller (257 on DirecTV, don't know about Comcast). Ray guns that shoot lethal cotton candy? Say no more, I'm in.
The trailer is here.
Some of the best scenes are here.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Ace Man
If you've heard Adam Carolla on the radio before, you know how good his rants and goofy ideas can be. He did "Crank Yankers," "The Man Show," and had a morning show, but I really think this guy's at his best when he can just BS with someone with no structure or time limit or anything like that. He recently had a syndicated morning show that was heard mostly on the west coast, but CBS cut him loose. Why? I'm not sure, but now, as I understand it, CBS pays the remainder of his contract as long as he doesn't accept another paying gig. What does he do? He sets up a daily podcast that you can download for free, every day. Some of the guests are a little obscure, but they're almost always entertaining, and sometimes it seems like they're really only there to provide Adam with new subjects to go off on. Have a listen. The Joe Rogan one was pretty good. The guy likes psychedelics. A good quote from Joe, "A heavy psychedelic experience is like pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE for your brain, and your brain reboots, and now you have a fresh new desktop, and there's one folder on the whole desktop, and that folder is labeled, 'My Old BS.'" The point is that you never know where it's gonna go, or what's gonna come up. Interesting and funny are good things, right? Oh, and most of the newer ones open with Lord Sitar covering "I Can See For Miles." Good stuff.
http://carollaradio.com/
http://carollaradio.com/
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Iceland
I know a ton of people that are all about seeing pictures from the vacations of others. I'm not really one of those people. I mean, I'll look at a few pictures if they're around, but I don't go out of my way to ask them about it, and nothing against you if you are one of those people, I'm just saying that's not really me. I recently went to Iceland, and maybe because the average person doesn't really know anyone from Iceland, or know too much about the country, I seem to be getting more and more requests for pictures. So, if you wanna see a few pics from a beautiful place full of beautiful people, here ya go.
Oh, and a very interesting read from Vanity Fair on the state of the Icleandic banking system and economy. You know, maybe you're curious about what happened there last fall? It's 7 pages, so get comfy.
Irony?
The gym I go to is on 3 different levels. You come in off the street on the middle level, the locker rooms are downstairs on the 1st and pretty much all of the equipment is on the 3rd floor. Something I see quite a bit are people downstairs that have just changed and are ready to work out waiting for the elevator to take them up to the third floor where they can work out. The stairs are right next to the elevator, so it's not like you have to walk 300 feet to use the stairs. They're right next to one another. WTF?
Monday, March 23, 2009
A few new tunes for ya
"1901" is a new song from French band, Phoenix, and it's a free download on their website! Yay for free! The song starts playing right away and the download links are right there.
"Walking On A Dream" is from Australian band, Empire Of The Sun. Yes, like the movie. Well, not really. Nice video. Shot in Shanghai, I believe.
"Happy Up Here" is a new song from Norwegian duo, Röyksopp. This song definitely reminds me of their first album, "Melody A.M." which was catchy as hell. "Eple" is from that album. See what I'm sayin'? Listen to every song from their new album here.
"Titus Andronicus" from Titus Andronicus. Play loud.
And don't forget about Animal Collective!
Monday, March 16, 2009
I've been watching Kraftwerk videos on YouTube for the past 47 minutes. Any band that makes a song about finding love through a computer in motherf'ing 1981 deserves ultimate respect, no?
"Computer Love (Liebe)"
"Trans-Europe Express"
"The Robots"
"Radioactivity" (present day Kraftwerk)
Best SNL Performance of All Time
Well, I don't want to overstate it too much, but when I was a young lad, one of the best shows on TV was Saturday Night Live. Right around 1990, the cast was loaded. Hartman, Myers, Carvey, Lovitz, Hooks, Miller, Rock, Nealon, to name a few... I'd record the shows on the family VCR and watch 'em a few times so I'd be able to recite some of the lines with my buddies at school the following Monday. One episode that was stellar from start to finish was one with John Goodman as host. He's hosted a billion times, but the one I'm thinking of was December 1, 1990. The skits were good (Wayne's World and their screening of the new Madonna video, "Justify My Love," and I think that was the first time we were introduced to Pat), but what made that episode my favorite of all time was the musical guest, Faith No More. I was 12 at the time and didn't really know what to make of Mike Patton weirding out the crowd with his bizarre stage antics. "Dude, is that Mike climbing up into the giant ventilation fan that's just there for show and serves no purpose as far as I can tell? Did he just smash the bass drum with his mic stand?" The more I watched it, the cooler it got. At the end of the first song, "Epic," notice how the applause isn't really there. After a few seconds, I think someone hit the applause light or something because it starts to pick up. You can feel the crowd thinking to themselves, "WTF was that?" And in the second video, "From Out Of Nowhere," Mike's crazy headbanging coupled with his cool polka-dotted red shorts is a winning combo. I bring this up now because SNL or NBC, I'm not sure which, is pretty famous for not letting their videos appear on YouTube or anywhere else legally, as far as I know. I just dug a little deeper and found 'em. Enjoy these two before they get yanked.
CRAP. I couldn't embed "From Out Of Nowhere." Click here to see it. Oh, and if Fear's performance is your fav, this blog has that video and a few other excellent ones.
CRAP. I couldn't embed "From Out Of Nowhere." Click here to see it. Oh, and if Fear's performance is your fav, this blog has that video and a few other excellent ones.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Who wants to ride a bike 175 miles with me?
Here's the deal... I'll be leading Team XRT in the annual Tour De Farms, a ride put together by the good people at the National MS Society Greater Illinois Chapter. The ride happens in DeKalb on the weekend of June 13 & 14. Oh, and you don't have to ride 175 miles, you can do 35, 50, 75, 100, 150 or 175. Come on! It's super do-able, I don't care who you are. There are rest stops along the way, and you can ride at your own pace. The important thing is to raise awareness and money for the MS Society. We'd LOVE to have you as part of Team XRT. We'll all be hanging out at the event and I'd really like to help put together an impressive team.
General info is here.
Register for Team XRT here. Yes, just scroll down to "XRT."
Sunday, March 8, 2009
These look promising
Should be out by late March, I believe...
And this one? Let's see. Picture a real life version of Spinal Tap. Throw in a few tears and you have "ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL." Yeah, the more I watch the trailer, the more it seems exactly like Spinal Tap, but whatever, it looks decent. The movie opens at Music Box on 4/24, but on 4/22 the movie will be shown at Metro WITH a live performance from the band.
And this one? Let's see. Picture a real life version of Spinal Tap. Throw in a few tears and you have "ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL." Yeah, the more I watch the trailer, the more it seems exactly like Spinal Tap, but whatever, it looks decent. The movie opens at Music Box on 4/24, but on 4/22 the movie will be shown at Metro WITH a live performance from the band.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Records?
OK, I have to clear something up here. When I'm on the radio, I use the term "records" quite a bit. I just received an email from a listener that doesn't seem too down with it. That's fine. I really do appreciate her response and the fact that she cares enough to drop me a line, but I had to state my case...
So here's the email. (name withheld, of course)
"individual songs are NOT records. In fact, I doubt much of what you play even comes from actual records. Get this straight: you play TRACKS off of CDS."
And my response.
"Record" can also be short for "recording," so a record can be an individual song. Also, at the Grammys, there is an award given for "Record of the Year," and that is an individual song. From Wikipedia, which, I know isn't ALWAYS spot on, but still.... "Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the performing artist, the producer, recording engineer, and/or mixer for that song. In this sense, 'record' means a recording of one song, not the composition or an album of songs. Often, the nominees and winners of this song represent the most successful songs of the year."
And with XRT having a massive vinyl library that we still use, I really do enjoy using the term "record." I know it's an older term, but DJs making their own playlists is an older concept as well, so it seems to fit. I've thought about this long and hard. If you say "CD," that's not entirely correct, because many people now download digital files, so, like you suggest, if I talk about the new "CD" from U2, that wouldn't be entirely correct. If someone bought the physical CD at Best Buy or wherever people buy those things nowadays, then yes, "CD" would be the right thing to say. But if someone downloaded "No Line On The Horizon" from iTunes, then they wouldn't have the new "CD" from U2, they'd have the new "release," or preferably the new "album" from U2 in digital form.
When I first came to XRT, I thought it was so cool being at a place that still let the DJs make the final call on what they play and when. It seems like such a throwback, but at the same time, we still play bands that other commercial stations won't touch, like Animal Collective, LCD Soundsystem, and Fleet Foxes to name a few. It's old school AND forward thinking at the same time, so maybe me using the term "record" as much as I do is a tribute to the classic format and style that still prevail at XRT.
Thanks for caring enough to write...
Your thoughts?
So here's the email. (name withheld, of course)
"individual songs are NOT records. In fact, I doubt much of what you play even comes from actual records. Get this straight: you play TRACKS off of CDS."
And my response.
"Record" can also be short for "recording," so a record can be an individual song. Also, at the Grammys, there is an award given for "Record of the Year," and that is an individual song. From Wikipedia, which, I know isn't ALWAYS spot on, but still.... "Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the performing artist, the producer, recording engineer, and/or mixer for that song. In this sense, 'record' means a recording of one song, not the composition or an album of songs. Often, the nominees and winners of this song represent the most successful songs of the year."
And with XRT having a massive vinyl library that we still use, I really do enjoy using the term "record." I know it's an older term, but DJs making their own playlists is an older concept as well, so it seems to fit. I've thought about this long and hard. If you say "CD," that's not entirely correct, because many people now download digital files, so, like you suggest, if I talk about the new "CD" from U2, that wouldn't be entirely correct. If someone bought the physical CD at Best Buy or wherever people buy those things nowadays, then yes, "CD" would be the right thing to say. But if someone downloaded "No Line On The Horizon" from iTunes, then they wouldn't have the new "CD" from U2, they'd have the new "release," or preferably the new "album" from U2 in digital form.
When I first came to XRT, I thought it was so cool being at a place that still let the DJs make the final call on what they play and when. It seems like such a throwback, but at the same time, we still play bands that other commercial stations won't touch, like Animal Collective, LCD Soundsystem, and Fleet Foxes to name a few. It's old school AND forward thinking at the same time, so maybe me using the term "record" as much as I do is a tribute to the classic format and style that still prevail at XRT.
Thanks for caring enough to write...
Your thoughts?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Letterman/Phoenix
This is awesome. Is it an act, or is Joaquin whacked out on pills? Who knows? It's extremely entertaining and Dave just goes with it. He does show a little frustration and takes a couple of shots, but I guess he just did what he had to do. 5 minutes of quality TV. Almost takes you back to this.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
(My) Top 10 Movies of 2008
Most of these movies are gone from theaters, but you have Netflix, right? Load up your queue!
10. Rachel's Getting Married
Anne Hathaway was excellent in her role as a complete trainwreck. A cringe-inducing trainwreck that makes you wonder if you should feel pity for the character or just plain hate her. As with almost everything else in life, it's probably somewhere in between, a little bit of both, I guess. There were so many memorable scenes/moments in this film. How many movies can you name off the top of your head with a dishwasher loading skills showdown? There's a wedding band that plays for just about the entire weekend, non-stop, and the wedding itself is like something out of a dream. It's a full-blown, multiracial, multicultural celebration of life and love, with incredible music, dancing, and good vibes that create an avalanche of positive energy that should not be missed.
9. Encounters At The End Of The World
If you ever read or saw "Into The Wild," you'll remember Christopher McCandless. His desire for what he considered to be a "real" or "true" existence took him to the wilderness of Alaska and ultimately cost him his life. Some people say that with a little bit of local knowledge, he would've been just fine and completely able to walk out of his predicament, but his fate and what could've been done to prevent it isn't what I want to write about here. I brought him up because many of the adventure seeking travelers interviewed in this Werner Herzog doc reminded me of him. Where can you go that's more extreme, more off the beaten path than Antarctica? Werner also visits with scientists and researchers, all with mesmerizing personalities and incredible stories about what brought them to the "End of the World."
8. Atonement
I remember liking this movie a lot when I saw it way back in January, but for some reason I haven't watched it again. It was sitting right there on my DVR for weeks and I wasn't the least bit interested in watching it. Hmmm.... Maybe, for that very reason, it shouldn't be on this list, but first impressions should count for something, right? I just remember liking the fact that they gave you the happy ending without actually giving you the happy ending. They played both sides, and it worked for me. Even though I don't feel like watching it ever again.
7. Son Of Rambow
This was a cutesy, feel-good movie that I almost didn't see. I'm glad I did, because it gave me a movie to recommend to my mom. Yeah, she loved it, "just like Juno." So maybe that will tell you something.
6. The Wackness
One of Ben Kingsley's 38 movies this past year. This is pretty basic, coming-of-age type stuff, but it's done very well. Most high school movies are shot in the 'burbs (The Breakfast Club, Dazed & Confused, all of the other John Hughes movies, Fast Times, etc.), so maybe this one being shot in New York gave it a different feel, but at the same time it stuck to many of the things that work in movies like these. Being eaten alive by a person you have a hopeless crush on, parents bumming you out, smoking pot with/selling pot to your shrink... They even managed to get "All The Young Dudes" in there, which is still good, I think.
5. There Will Be Blood
I was wondering what list to put this on, '07 or '08. It was included in a bunch of critics' lists from last year, and it won Oscars honoring movies from '07, but how the fuck are you supposed to include a movie on your Best of '07 list if it came out on December 26th?! And that was just New York and LA! Chicago was Early '08, for crying out loud! I'm going through that now with "Milk" and "The Wrestler." Screw it, they'll be on the '09 list and TWBB goes on the '08 list. The trailer for this movie really hinted at something horrific, something bloody, since, well, you know, "Blood" is in the title and everything, but... There isn't much, really, except for a satisfying final scene.
4. Man On Wire
Philippe Petit is the man who walked on a high wire between the World Trade Center towers in 1974 and this is a documentary about the entire process. The film focuses on what made Philippe decide on the WTC, his background in the art of high wire (including some of his previous work), and the seemingly thousands of things that had to come together for him to achieve his dream. And yes, this really was his dream. He enthusiastically tells you all about it in this film, and by the time the footage of the WTC walk comes around, you're rooting for him like the underdog in a thousand Hollywood feelgood movies.
3. The Dark Knight
You saw it. I don't need to write anything.
2. Let The Right One In
A Swedish, teenage vampire flick, but from what I understand, nothing like that one that came out this year in the States with that one teen heartthrob guy that plays baseball in the movie and who according to Yahoo!, just cut his hair. I never saw it and I'm too lazy to look up the name of it, but you know what I'm talking about, right? OK, this is nothing like that. "Let The Right One In" follows a young boy around that's being bullied at school and who has a new neighbor. The neighbor is a girl near his age, who can hang around outside, at night, in Sweden, with nothing but a t-shirt on and not feel cold. Yes, she also drinks blood, and there are a few excellent scenes that show how she gets it, but the best parts of the movie focus on their friendship. She initially decides against befriending the boy, but curiosity gets the best of both of them, they grow closer, she persuades him to stand up for himself (and helps out a bit herself, too), gives him some newfound confidence with the opposite sex, and makes it seem that being best friends/BF-GF with a vampire is do-able.
1. Slumdog Millionaire
I knew nothing about the movie when I saw it, just a trailer that showed a girl being forcefully taken away from a crowded Indian train station while her boyfriend(?) looks on, helpless, from a distance. I'd like to leave it at that, and just say how sad it is that this movie is showing on just a couple of screens in and around Chicago. It's complete bullshit that a movie like this, that should be up for Best Picture this year, is next to impossible to find, while crap like Kevin James as a mall cop will get a massive release. I know that the indie/foreign films will always be harder to find, and that's one of the reasons that seeing them can be so rewarding, but Slumdog is a slam dunk! How can someone that decides on what movies are shown where, see this movie and not think that it would rake in massive amounts of cash if people were just given the opportunity to see it? WTF? I've seen gritty, hard to watch indie/foreign flicks this year that are not for everyone ("Ballast," "4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days," to name a few), but Slumdog is nothing like that. I'm hoping that this movie is nominated for a few Oscars, so maybe then it'll get a bigger release, but if things stay the way they are with this movie... What a crime.
10. Rachel's Getting Married
Anne Hathaway was excellent in her role as a complete trainwreck. A cringe-inducing trainwreck that makes you wonder if you should feel pity for the character or just plain hate her. As with almost everything else in life, it's probably somewhere in between, a little bit of both, I guess. There were so many memorable scenes/moments in this film. How many movies can you name off the top of your head with a dishwasher loading skills showdown? There's a wedding band that plays for just about the entire weekend, non-stop, and the wedding itself is like something out of a dream. It's a full-blown, multiracial, multicultural celebration of life and love, with incredible music, dancing, and good vibes that create an avalanche of positive energy that should not be missed.
9. Encounters At The End Of The World
If you ever read or saw "Into The Wild," you'll remember Christopher McCandless. His desire for what he considered to be a "real" or "true" existence took him to the wilderness of Alaska and ultimately cost him his life. Some people say that with a little bit of local knowledge, he would've been just fine and completely able to walk out of his predicament, but his fate and what could've been done to prevent it isn't what I want to write about here. I brought him up because many of the adventure seeking travelers interviewed in this Werner Herzog doc reminded me of him. Where can you go that's more extreme, more off the beaten path than Antarctica? Werner also visits with scientists and researchers, all with mesmerizing personalities and incredible stories about what brought them to the "End of the World."
8. Atonement
I remember liking this movie a lot when I saw it way back in January, but for some reason I haven't watched it again. It was sitting right there on my DVR for weeks and I wasn't the least bit interested in watching it. Hmmm.... Maybe, for that very reason, it shouldn't be on this list, but first impressions should count for something, right? I just remember liking the fact that they gave you the happy ending without actually giving you the happy ending. They played both sides, and it worked for me. Even though I don't feel like watching it ever again.
7. Son Of Rambow
This was a cutesy, feel-good movie that I almost didn't see. I'm glad I did, because it gave me a movie to recommend to my mom. Yeah, she loved it, "just like Juno." So maybe that will tell you something.
6. The Wackness
One of Ben Kingsley's 38 movies this past year. This is pretty basic, coming-of-age type stuff, but it's done very well. Most high school movies are shot in the 'burbs (The Breakfast Club, Dazed & Confused, all of the other John Hughes movies, Fast Times, etc.), so maybe this one being shot in New York gave it a different feel, but at the same time it stuck to many of the things that work in movies like these. Being eaten alive by a person you have a hopeless crush on, parents bumming you out, smoking pot with/selling pot to your shrink... They even managed to get "All The Young Dudes" in there, which is still good, I think.
5. There Will Be Blood
I was wondering what list to put this on, '07 or '08. It was included in a bunch of critics' lists from last year, and it won Oscars honoring movies from '07, but how the fuck are you supposed to include a movie on your Best of '07 list if it came out on December 26th?! And that was just New York and LA! Chicago was Early '08, for crying out loud! I'm going through that now with "Milk" and "The Wrestler." Screw it, they'll be on the '09 list and TWBB goes on the '08 list. The trailer for this movie really hinted at something horrific, something bloody, since, well, you know, "Blood" is in the title and everything, but... There isn't much, really, except for a satisfying final scene.
4. Man On Wire
Philippe Petit is the man who walked on a high wire between the World Trade Center towers in 1974 and this is a documentary about the entire process. The film focuses on what made Philippe decide on the WTC, his background in the art of high wire (including some of his previous work), and the seemingly thousands of things that had to come together for him to achieve his dream. And yes, this really was his dream. He enthusiastically tells you all about it in this film, and by the time the footage of the WTC walk comes around, you're rooting for him like the underdog in a thousand Hollywood feelgood movies.
3. The Dark Knight
You saw it. I don't need to write anything.
2. Let The Right One In
A Swedish, teenage vampire flick, but from what I understand, nothing like that one that came out this year in the States with that one teen heartthrob guy that plays baseball in the movie and who according to Yahoo!, just cut his hair. I never saw it and I'm too lazy to look up the name of it, but you know what I'm talking about, right? OK, this is nothing like that. "Let The Right One In" follows a young boy around that's being bullied at school and who has a new neighbor. The neighbor is a girl near his age, who can hang around outside, at night, in Sweden, with nothing but a t-shirt on and not feel cold. Yes, she also drinks blood, and there are a few excellent scenes that show how she gets it, but the best parts of the movie focus on their friendship. She initially decides against befriending the boy, but curiosity gets the best of both of them, they grow closer, she persuades him to stand up for himself (and helps out a bit herself, too), gives him some newfound confidence with the opposite sex, and makes it seem that being best friends/BF-GF with a vampire is do-able.
1. Slumdog Millionaire
I knew nothing about the movie when I saw it, just a trailer that showed a girl being forcefully taken away from a crowded Indian train station while her boyfriend(?) looks on, helpless, from a distance. I'd like to leave it at that, and just say how sad it is that this movie is showing on just a couple of screens in and around Chicago. It's complete bullshit that a movie like this, that should be up for Best Picture this year, is next to impossible to find, while crap like Kevin James as a mall cop will get a massive release. I know that the indie/foreign films will always be harder to find, and that's one of the reasons that seeing them can be so rewarding, but Slumdog is a slam dunk! How can someone that decides on what movies are shown where, see this movie and not think that it would rake in massive amounts of cash if people were just given the opportunity to see it? WTF? I've seen gritty, hard to watch indie/foreign flicks this year that are not for everyone ("Ballast," "4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days," to name a few), but Slumdog is nothing like that. I'm hoping that this movie is nominated for a few Oscars, so maybe then it'll get a bigger release, but if things stay the way they are with this movie... What a crime.
Friday, December 19, 2008
(My) Top 10 Albums of 2008
I've realized something in the past few days. Albums don't matter as much as they used to. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to a good album from front to back, but the way we listen to music has changed. I was trying to figure out which albums were my favorites of the year, and it suddenly dawned on me that I'm much more interested in my 25 top songs of 2008 (or maybe even a top 80 minutes of music that can fit onto one CD). We get an album, listen to it a couple of times, and if there's a song or two that really jump out at us, we make a mental note of it, and then drag that song or songs into our next playlist that we make for a run, or a road trip or whatever. But as long as albums exist and they continue to be the way that most music is presented to us, I'll gladly do a top albums list. Let's get to it.
10. Santogold - Santogold
Loved her set at Coachella back in April, and the Bud Light Lime ads were a bit of a bummer at first, but artists need to eat, so what the hell do I care if her songs were heard in what seemed like every other commercial break during NFL games for a couple of months? The record is good and the more people hear it, the better. Right?
9. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
I played "Crying" on the radio tonight and I had to talk about the fact that you won't be able to find a best albums of 2008 list without "Dear Science" on it, and that should include the XRT Listener poll, or I'm gonna be bummed.
8. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
It took a little while for me to buy into this album for some reason, but when it clicked, it clicked. God, I suck at writing. I have to mention that every year. But back to CC... A damn good record to run to, and I'm glad to see that the mighty X-Sport Fitness 24 Hour mega-gym I go to now has the song that you hear below in their music video rotation. Australian dance jams rule, what can I say?
7. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
A duo from Toronto that played Chicago recently, but it was one of those god damn all ages shows that start at 6:30 or whatever. Who can get out for the night at 6:30? Would've liked to have seen 'em. Oh, well... A solid, catchy electro record, that again, is good to run to. AND.... Their name will always remind us of this bad ass game. (You're realizing that I'm being super lazy with these little blurbs about each record, right?)
6. Pop Levi - Never Never Love
That's his real name! Well, it's Jonathan Pop Levi, I believe. This is a party record for the most part. It would've been nice to see more written about this album in '08. It starts off with a bang. "Wannamama" is the name of the song that gets it started and it's a Bolan-esque, uptempo jam that even has a few little Prince-y parts to it. Slower pop songs can be found too, but all in all, an album that will put a smile on your face.
5. Nada Surf - Lucky
I fell in love with "Whose Authority" the first time I heard it, and seeing the video made me like it even more (that's the one below) because it's exactly how I get to work every day. And as much as I like the video, it's a little odd, I guess, just following a guy on his bike around the city. Oh, well.. Ever since "Let Go" in 2002/2003, I've had a soft spot for these guys, and I really enjoyed their set at Metro last month. Welcome the the #5 slot, Nada Surf!
4. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
What do you call these guys? Indie psych-pop? How about a band that put out one of the best albums of 2008? I fell in love with "Electric Feel" .89 seconds into the chorus and the riff in "Kids" is unforgettable. My girlfriend works at Jake's Pub at Clark & Wellington and when it's slow in there, or people are being lame and not feeding the jukebox, the bartenders will throw their own tunes on. MGMT was in the rotation for a few months, and people would always ask who they were hearing. Still pissed that I missed 'em jamming with Beck at one of our Studio X shows at Martyr's. They played for quite a while too. We'll be airing that show soon on XRT. Can't wait.
3. The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
It's all in the title. It's distorted as hell, but underneath the feedback are some A+ pop songs. Listen to "California Girls" below and you'll see what I mean. If you dig The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and bands like that, this is a slam dunk.
2. Yelle - Pop Up
It wouldn't be a proper list without some French pop, right?
1. Portishead - Third
ELEVEN years since the last album and they drop this on us? How is that possible?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Colbert vs. BEARS!!!!
Since I'm obsessed with the Report, I need to have one of his videos up here. When he started out on his own, I was a little skeptical of the idea. I'd watch the Daily Show and not really pay much attention to the Report. But when he roasted President Bush right to his face back when the media still hadn't called him out on much (or maybe they weren't being given the opportunity, I'm not sure), that, to me, was one of the greatest moments in the history of... Uh, fake pundits mocking presidents while they're sitting at the same table, I guess? Anyway, now I watch both The Daily Show and The Report every night, but if I had to pick one, it'd be this guy below.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
From fmqb.com...
Is a Creed reunion in the works? Billboard reports that negotiations are under way for "a lucrative 2009 reunion tour" for the platinum-selling rockers, who split in 2004. While frontman Scott Stapp's solo career has stalled, the rest of the band formed Alter Bridge with singer Myles Kennedy, who have released two records and toured steadily. Kennedy has been the subject of speculation as a possible stand-in for Robert Plant on a tour with the members of Led Zeppelin.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Rapid reaction? Best movie of '08.
I didn't want to post the entire review (which you can read here), or even a trailer because I didn't want to give anything away. These are Ty Burr's words from the Boston Globe. The first sentence sums it up for me...
"I'll keep this simple: Cancel whatever you're doing tonight and go see "Slumdog Millionaire" instead. Yes, you, the girl obsessed with "Twilight" and the guy still hung up on "The Dark Knight." Take the grandparents, too, and the teenagers. Everyone can play.
You've never heard of the actors. A third of the film is in Hindi. Much of it takes place in the most fetid, poverty-ridden corners of the Indian subcontinent, and most of it isn't nice. Yet this sprawling, madly romantic fairy-tale epic is the kind of deep-dish audience-rouser we've long given up hoping for from Hollywood. "Slumdog" is a soaring return to form for director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting"), but mostly it's just a miracle of mainstream pop moviemaking - the sort of thing modern filmmakers aren't supposed to make anymore. Except they just did."
"I'll keep this simple: Cancel whatever you're doing tonight and go see "Slumdog Millionaire" instead. Yes, you, the girl obsessed with "Twilight" and the guy still hung up on "The Dark Knight." Take the grandparents, too, and the teenagers. Everyone can play.
You've never heard of the actors. A third of the film is in Hindi. Much of it takes place in the most fetid, poverty-ridden corners of the Indian subcontinent, and most of it isn't nice. Yet this sprawling, madly romantic fairy-tale epic is the kind of deep-dish audience-rouser we've long given up hoping for from Hollywood. "Slumdog" is a soaring return to form for director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting"), but mostly it's just a miracle of mainstream pop moviemaking - the sort of thing modern filmmakers aren't supposed to make anymore. Except they just did."
Monday, November 24, 2008
More New Tunes! It's about time, I know.
SO lazy lately with the blog... But, I've come back with a super strong record for you. Marty Lennartz turned me on to these guys. The Black Ghosts are a couple of dudes from the UK, one of which used to be in the band Simian. The electro-pop thing has been done before, but these guys do it so well, I thought that they deserved a mention on a blog that gets literally tens of views per week. This is the second song on their newest album, which is self-titled.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Can't recommend this movie enough!
Saw it as part of the Chicago Int'l Film Festival, and I'm not quite sure when and where it'll be released in Chicago or on DVD, but if you have Netflix or some other online DVD rental service, set a reminder, save the movie, do something! Just see this when you get the chance. I'm a dork and grade movies after I see 'em and this one was one of a few "A" grades I've handed out this year (in case you were wondering).
Update! It'll be released in Chicago on 11/21 at the Landmark Century Theater on Clark St. just north of Diversey. Now make plans to see it!
Update! It'll be released in Chicago on 11/21 at the Landmark Century Theater on Clark St. just north of Diversey. Now make plans to see it!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Listen to Pop Levi!
Yeah, that's his real name. Jonathan Pop Levi to be exact. His new album is called "Never Never Love" and it's a gem from front to back. There's an uptempo rocker or two, but it's mostly a pop record. Go figure, huh? The video for the title track is below and his myspace page is here. If you click on the link, be sure to listen to the "Hear First" selection from a couple weeks ago, "Wannamama."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Anyone else miss Arcade Fire?
The world is a much better place with this band. Since they haven't been to Chicago recently, here's a quick vid to help hold us over until they return or bless us with a new record.
Thanks to Listener X for the assist on this one. (Forgot your name. Sorry!)
Thanks to Listener X for the assist on this one. (Forgot your name. Sorry!)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Gotta Love the "Stuff White People Like" blog
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Pea Coats?!?! Awesome.
Check out the rest of the list. I counted 59 out of 111 for myself. No, I'm not that into farmer's markets like the one above, but that's funny. Really funny.
Party Tunes!
I've been a bit lazy lately copying and pasting a bunch of articles on the economy and national debt. Not the sexiest topics, but pretty important stuff I've been angry about lately. I could write some embarrassingly incoherent pieces on the economy and debt on my own, but I think that fellows at the Brookings Institution can do a better job than I can, so that's why you've seen a few of those recently...
So, let's get back to the party tunes. I've posted his work before, but it's ALWAYS a good idea to visit Party Ben's blog. He has a ton of downloads for you to play at your next fiesta.
Eddie Money vs. The Ting Tings!
Lily Allen vs. Howard Jones!
Queen vs. House of Pain!
And who can forget the classic Police vs. Snow Patrol jam?!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
More Money Talk
Dude. Wait, check that. DUDE!!!!!! WTF is going on?! If Mr. Easterbrook's numbers are correct, the national debt went from 5 trillion in 1998 to 11 trillion today? MORE THAN DOUBLE IN ONE DECADE?!?!?!?!? I'm kind of obsessed with the fact that we SUCK with money nowadays. I read this guy's columns quite a bit. He writes about football, the mysteries of the cosmos, and cars that get terrible gas mileage. I'm gonna copy and paste a piece from this week's column. Please, read on.
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Last week, TMQ asked why no one was paying attention to the fact that the national debt ceiling was quietly raised by $800 billion during the summer. Well, toss that column: The White House just asked the national debt ceiling be raised another $700 billion, for the proposed financial-sector bailout. If that happens, in 2008 alone, $1.5 trillion will have been added to the national debt: every penny borrowed from your children and their children. Stated in today's dollars, in 1979 the entire national debt was $1.5 trillion. George W. Bush and Congress have in a single year added an amount equal to the entire national debt one generation ago. And the year's not over!
It took the United States 209 years, from the founding of the republic till 1998, to compile the first $5 trillion in national debt. In the decade since, $6 trillion in debt has been added. This means the United States has borrowed more money in the past decade than in all our previous history combined. Almost all the borrowing has been under the direction of George W. Bush -- at this point Bush makes Kenneth Lay seem like a paragon of fiscal caution. Democrats deserve ample blame, too. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leaders of the Senate and House, have never met a bailout they didn't like: Harry and Nancy just can't wait to spend your children's money. Six trillion dollars borrowed in a single decade and $1.5 trillion borrowed in 2008 alone. Charles Ponzi would be embarrassed.
If you borrowed, borrowed, borrowed, you could afford to live high for a while -- then there would be a reckoning. Hmmm … that sounds a little like what many Americans did with gimmick mortgages in 2005 and 2006. They were only imitating their political leadership! Why is it both parties in Washington think the United States can borrow, borrow, borrow without a reckoning ever coming? Bush, Reid and Pelosi seem poised to transfer hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowed public money to political insiders on Wall Street and in banking, whose bonuses will now be tax-subsidized. The capitalist maxim is, "She who reaps the gains also bears the losses." Now Washington wants those who reaped the gains to shift the losses to those who lived humbly. The young will pay and pay for these cynical ploys to insure the luxury of the powerful old. Why aren't the young outraged?
TMQ's pal Isabel Sawhill, among the leading public-policy economists of our day, says Washington does indeed need to intervene in the financial system -- the harm to the average person of letting credit markets freeze would be greater, she thinks, than the harm caused by more public debt. Fair enough. But it doesn't inspire confidence that on Sept. 12, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the financial system had been fixed and "under no circumstances" would there be further bailouts; on Friday, Paulson said the system was collapsing and another $700 billion was needed. Suddenly Paulson is insisting the country has no choice other than immediately to hand over $700 billion to Wall Street fat cats, with barely any debate or even explanation of the plan. Why should anyone believe this guy, when just one week previously he said no further bailouts would occur? It seems clear Paulson had no idea what he was talking about then, while if the problem is really as bad as Paulson says now, his past delay in facing the problem has made the cost far higher. With such a poor track record, why is the treasury secretary suddenly viewed as a superbrilliant genius whose marching orders must be followed?
It is not public intervention that is objectionable. University of Chicago Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker, among the top conservative economists, just said, "I have reluctantly concluded that substantial intervention was justified." Rather it is size of the bailout, and the hurry-up-give-the-money-don't-stop-to-think aspect, that are troubling. Much of the $700 billion will flow to investment-community friends of Paulson, Bush and other administration figures. Average Americans who behaved irresponsibly by signing gimmick mortgages may get some taxpayer aid from the Paulson proposal, and maybe they should get none. But in the end, average Americans will still be liable for most of what they owe -- that is, will still be held responsible for their actions. Wealthy, politically connected insiders who run banks and companies such as American International Group will be exempt for responsibility for their actions, and will stuff taxpayer-subsidized millions into their pockets.
On Sunday, Paulson called the self-serving actions of top Wall Street figures "inexcusable" -- yet the plan is not only to excuse them, but to shower them with free money. Paulson said Wall Street pay levels were "excessive," but should be discussed later, after the bailout is done. Now is the moment of maximum leverage! Once they are holding the public's money and laughing about how easily they got it, financial executives will have no incentive to compromise on pay. Here's an idea: Any company that participates in the bailout agrees to limit its top-tier executives to the federal minimum wage. That is, after all, the amount Washington says is enough to live on. Meanwhile, of the two jokers who drove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the ground, one was paid $19.8 million in 2007, the other $14 million; each will get nearly $5 million in taxpayer-funded "retirement" bennies.
Yet there's scant outrage. Maybe this is because in an era of fiscal irresponsibility by both parties, everybody wants a bailout. Wall Street, bankers, homeowners who lied on their mortgage applications, Detroit automakers, farmers -- gimme, gimme, gimme! Rather than asking whether the $700 billion giveaway is too large or being structured in a way that benefits the rich, numerous members of Congress are instead demanding more bailouts be appended: for seniors (see below), cities, states, more "stimulus" checks, you name it. Give money to whoever will fund my re-election! The money is being forcibly extracted from the pockets of our children and their children. Every dollar borrowed today by the irresponsible old of Washington will subtract two dollars from future economic growth, leaving our children and their children a legacy of stagnation.
The 1980 Chrysler bailout, which was nationally debated for months before happening, cost $3.2 billion, in present-value dollars, and was financed by revenue rather than by borrowing. Here is the borrowing that's happened in 2008 alone, with precious little public debate:
• $29 billion to bail out Bear Stearns.
• $40 billion in the first mortgage-holder bailout.
• $80 billion for an additional year of Iraq war operations. (Another $150-$200 billion in war costs such as future veterans' disability benefits were incurred but not funded.)
• Up to $85 billion to bail out AIG.
• $153 billion to households for "economic stimulus."
• $200 billion, and possibly more, to bail out Fannie and Freddie.
• $290 billion in farm subsidies, despite agricultural prices and grains profits being at record highs.
• $700 billion general bailout of securities backed by bad debt. (The International Monetary Fund estimates this figure will rise to at least $1 trillion.)
That comes to $1.6 trillion, explaining the debt-ceiling rise, and does not include roughly $300 billion in essentially interest-free cash issued to banks by the Federal Reserve on an emergency basis, which may or may not be repaid, but which in any case make all existing money somewhat less valuable. Why is the debt aspect of the splurge barely being remarked on by the mainstream media and by politicians? Why are the young not furious? And about that $700 billion about to the shoveled to the Wall Street elite -- in 2007, George W. Bush vetoed an increase of $7 billion per year in health care spending for the poor, saying the country couldn't afford it."
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Listening to Koushik right now. Join me!
He's listed, er, sometimes described as a Canadian hip-hopper, but these tunes have a little '60s psych thrown in, are a little on the slower side of things, and quite satisfying overall. Here's a track to download called "Lying In The Sun." Hope you dig it as much as I do!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
When did it become cool to spend more than we bring in?
OK, yeah, gloom and doom stuff, right? Well..... This doc seemed to be pretty non-partisan. It wasn't so much about pointing fingers as much as it was about bringing to light facts and figures that are ignored year after year. It's bad for us to spend more money than we bring in, right? Isn't that what mom and dad taught us? Isn't that common sense? A business that finishes in the red year after year, goes under. Why does the federal government get to do it seemingly without consequences? Oh, wait. There are consequences. A weak dollar, a weak economy, inflation... Holy crap!
If the long term health and security of our economy interests you, you might want to watch the movie...
Or read the book (which is a little more opinionated). Amazon reviews can be found here.
If the long term health and security of our economy interests you, you might want to watch the movie...
Or read the book (which is a little more opinionated). Amazon reviews can be found here.
Videos! More videos! We'll have text soon, I promise.
EVERYONE'S seen it by now, but just in case you haven't...
Monday, September 8, 2008
Whoa! Watch Noel Gallagher get thrown into the crowd by some nutty guy!
This was at the Virgin Festival in Toronto recently. Good thing the dude wasn't carrying a firearm. We could've had another Diamond, er, Dimebag Darrell situation. It happens about 1:30 in. And thanks to Pitchfork for pointing it out.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I know you're bummed that you missed Judas Priest on Jimmy Kimmel's show last night
So, I'm here to save the day. They were really good in Tinley Park a few weeks ago. There's always a soft spot in my heart for one of the metal bands I grew up with. Notice that KK and Glenn are wearing the EXACT same stuff they were rocking 25 years ago! Excellent stuff.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Crispin Glover from, like, 20-plus years ago
A quick hit from the past for you...
So, I'm sitting around, watching "At Close Range" last week. Super good flick with Christopher Walken and Sean Penn, based on a true story, yada, yada.. Crispin Glover has a small part in the movie, and surprise, he plays a creepy dude! It reminded me of this classic clip from Letterman's show back in '87. Enjoy.
So, I'm sitting around, watching "At Close Range" last week. Super good flick with Christopher Walken and Sean Penn, based on a true story, yada, yada.. Crispin Glover has a small part in the movie, and surprise, he plays a creepy dude! It reminded me of this classic clip from Letterman's show back in '87. Enjoy.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Another candidate for fav movie of the year?!?!
Oh yeah, that's right, summer is ending, fall is around the corner... And that means that there's gonna be way too much cool stuff to keep up with. The summer is dead (except for street festivals and other free events here in Chicago) and now fall is coming. If you're a TV/music/movie geek, you have a new football season, Academy Award hopefuls released, Chicago Int'l Film Festival, a new TV season, a bunch of new albums, and shows at actual clubs here in Chicago again! As cool as they are, Lolla and Pitchfork kinda bleed the scene dry for months, but now shows at our local venues will be back, on top of all that other stuff listed. Here's a movie to get you started on the busy season ahead..
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A new band worth your time
More psych-indie records! You liked the Panda Bear album? Here's more. Start with "The Parade Devine."
Probably my fav movie of the year
Didn't get stellar reviews across the board, but I dunno... The character is two years older than I am in the movie (Class of '94) and the learning to get your heart broken thing with a bunch of drugs around and a cool old dude that likes to tag with big fat markers is cool too.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
DRHST
Just saw this last night. Highly recommended. Not in all theaters, so you'll have to search a bit, but you'll dig it if you take the time. Gonzo!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Mas música
Yeah, the last music post was música en Español. Spain just won Euro 2008. XRT in 1972 was Spanish during daytime hours! This is all liked somehow.
The name on the albums is Cineplexx. He's an Argentine living in Barcelona and his real name is Sebastian Litmanovich. Download an mp3 here! See his website here.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The magic of Loggins, Cross, Hall, Oates, McDonald, etc.
This is one of a series of videos that are a couple years old. Some of the vids are a little out there, but the fact that the series uses the term "Yacht Rock" deserves some serious credit. Ever wonder how the song "Rosanna" came to be? Well, of course you didn't, but, uh.... Just watch.
And if you liked it, here's the vid from the video.
And if you liked it, here's the vid from the video.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
New/old sounds
I'm kinda bummed I don't live close enough to Brooklyn to check out the bar "Barbes." Give a listen to this piece from NPR.
And if you like the style/mini-genre, they have some songs here.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A few listeners have me bummed
Terri Hemmert played this record for our "Hear First" segment a few weeks ago and we received several e-mails from people that didn't like the record and wanted us to stop playing it. Good move, guys! Way to encourage safe, ball-less radio! Hey, if we play something that's a little too much for you, or a bit off your radar, hit the button and turn on another station that's playing "White Wedding" for the 145,935,497th time and then come back when it's over. We appreciate your feedback, we honestly do, but when you act like you're scared of monsters, and tell us to STOP PLAYING records you don't like, especially newer, more adventurous stuff, all you're doing is encouraging us to take fewer risks. And I DO know that 98% of the audience did enjoy the record, or at least liked the fact that they were hearing a band as cool as Portishead, it's just a few squeaky wheels (squeaky for all the wrong reasons), that can bring something new and different down.
Sorry, Beth.
Sorry, Beth.
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About Me
- Jason Thomas
- I play records at WXRT in Chicago. 93.1 on the FM dial. 93xrt.com as well.