Each Christmas, my family does something very rare for us - we watch a whole, whole lot of movies. Inspired by this and by a friend's recent list, here are my 50 favorites, including a few guilty pleasures. * marks Top 10.
2001: A Space Odyssey* - Favorite Sci-Fi Film
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Affliction
Apocalypse Now! - Favorite War Film
Batman Begins
Beauty and the Beast - Favorite Animated Film
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Chariots of Fire*
A Clockwork Orange
Control - Favorite Biopic
The Conversation
The Departed
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Evil Roy Slade
The Godfather* - Favorite Overall Film
The Godfather Part II
GoodFellas*
The Insider
Jackie Brown
Kill Bill, Volumes I & II - Favorite Action Film
The Last Temptation of Christ
Lawrence of Arabia*
The Lion King
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Mystic River
Night of the Hunter
Night of the Living Dead
North by Northwest*
O Brother, Where Art Thou?* - Favorite Comedy
On the Waterfront
The Producers (1968)
Psycho
Pulp Fiction*
Quiz Show
Raging Bull
Rushmore*
Sid and Nancy
Sideways
Silence of the Lambs - Favorite Horror Film
Spirited Away
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Wars
The Sting
Terminator II: Judgment Day - Guiltiest Pleasure
Trainspotting
There Will Be Blood
This is Spinal Tap*
Toy Story
Up
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
My Practice Jersey...
...had been hiding in my backpack for a few months. I wore it today and got a nosebleed. Just the weather, but some of the blood leaked onto the sleeve where it turned the shade of middle aged lipstick. I remembered layout practice from last spring break, again and again reaching for some poor throw, batting the disk, scratching my arm in the grass until the blood gushed and I smeared a handprint across the front of the shirt. I miss college.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Nice Early Christmas Present
I was completely taken by surprise this evening when I received an email stating my acceptance to Wisconsin-Madison's PhD program in chemistry. They're ranked 7th in chemistry nationally and 8th in organic. The only schools I applied to ranked more highly are Harvard and MIT, though Columbia is pretty comparable, not that these rankings really matter. Still, thrilled to be accepted to such a prestigious program and optimistic about the other schools I applied to. Madison is supposed to be a great town with terrible weather. The other major drawback is that I have no friends there.
Not that I take these coincidences too seriously, but I note that 3 of the 5 officers of their graduate Intervarsity organization are chemistry PhD students. Guess I'd be in good company.
Not that I take these coincidences too seriously, but I note that 3 of the 5 officers of their graduate Intervarsity organization are chemistry PhD students. Guess I'd be in good company.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Album Ideas
Since I purchased my first guitar about a year and a half ago, I've written many songs, and in all honesty, some of them are terrible, but I think that some of them are pretty good and if I had some money, I'd record a demo on something nicer than my $9 computer microphone. This week I released my first EP "A Mixture of Action and Comedy" as a gag gift. It took approximately one hour to record and only one physical copy exists. It will be a collector's item someday.
The tracklist:
1. Dance in the River (Chris Tomlin (?) cover)
2. The Four Chord Praise
3. Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley cover)
4. You're Beautiful (James Blunt cover)
5. The Ballad of Teddy Stollard
6. Take It on the Run (REO Speedwagon cover)
7. Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan cover)
8. Jesus is my Boyfriend
9. Dance in the River (Reprise)
I've written enough real material for an entire album at this point, an album that would include nothing from "A Mixture of Action and Comedy". I've thought of titling it "12 Unattainable Women" since unattainable women come up frequently in my songwriting. However, I've got twelve candidates for inclusion and of these, "When I Dared" is a breakup song, "Dancing on the Moon" is a dis track, "Another One Gone" and "Things You're Supposed to Feel" are reflections on friends getting married, "Generous Thief" is a political protest and "Aged Castle" is a song of spiritual reflection. We're now down to 6 unattainable women, expressed in "Evil Ideal", "I Only Fall in Love...", "Quarantine", "Friendly Letter", "What's Wrong With Being Obsessed?", and "Through a Wisher's Eyes". So screw that album title.
I'm also constantly rewriting these songs to accommodate rapid advances in my guitar playing and reconsiderations of lyrical choices. "Friendly Letter" is the only decent song I've ever finished in one sitting and the only unattainable woman song I've written that accurately expresses my feelings and experiences, since I usually make up lies and then sing them. It is awesome because it includes the rhyme "epistle/guided missile" and the line "I'd love to punch the bastard in the face." I thought that "I Only Fall in Love..." was complete until I decided to write a new bridge today. "Generous Thief" is definitely the weakest of the bunch and is also essentially finished. The title sat in limbo for months before any other part of the song came to me and I've always thought the comparison (Obama spends like a generous thief) was a bit cheap, but hey, "Masters of War" wasn't exactly nuanced. I confess that I've never considered any of the others complete in part because I have a terrible time with second verses. "Dancing on the Moon" is also a little gimmicky and may undergo a total rewrite saving only the title hook, which had played in my head for years. "I Only Fall in Love...", "a Wisher's Eyes" and "Aged Castle" are the cases where I really think I might have struck gold. I played their melodies out on the piano the other day and thought "Hey, that's quite good. People might really enjoy hearing that." "Things You're Supposed to Feel" is my most recent composition and there might actually be two songs lurking in there, as the verses and the chorus seem to address different subject, each worth singing about.
Whether or not these will ever meet anyone else's ears on record has yet to be decided, but it's certainly a fun hobby.
The tracklist:
1. Dance in the River (Chris Tomlin (?) cover)
2. The Four Chord Praise
3. Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley cover)
4. You're Beautiful (James Blunt cover)
5. The Ballad of Teddy Stollard
6. Take It on the Run (REO Speedwagon cover)
7. Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan cover)
8. Jesus is my Boyfriend
9. Dance in the River (Reprise)
I've written enough real material for an entire album at this point, an album that would include nothing from "A Mixture of Action and Comedy". I've thought of titling it "12 Unattainable Women" since unattainable women come up frequently in my songwriting. However, I've got twelve candidates for inclusion and of these, "When I Dared" is a breakup song, "Dancing on the Moon" is a dis track, "Another One Gone" and "Things You're Supposed to Feel" are reflections on friends getting married, "Generous Thief" is a political protest and "Aged Castle" is a song of spiritual reflection. We're now down to 6 unattainable women, expressed in "Evil Ideal", "I Only Fall in Love...", "Quarantine", "Friendly Letter", "What's Wrong With Being Obsessed?", and "Through a Wisher's Eyes". So screw that album title.
I'm also constantly rewriting these songs to accommodate rapid advances in my guitar playing and reconsiderations of lyrical choices. "Friendly Letter" is the only decent song I've ever finished in one sitting and the only unattainable woman song I've written that accurately expresses my feelings and experiences, since I usually make up lies and then sing them. It is awesome because it includes the rhyme "epistle/guided missile" and the line "I'd love to punch the bastard in the face." I thought that "I Only Fall in Love..." was complete until I decided to write a new bridge today. "Generous Thief" is definitely the weakest of the bunch and is also essentially finished. The title sat in limbo for months before any other part of the song came to me and I've always thought the comparison (Obama spends like a generous thief) was a bit cheap, but hey, "Masters of War" wasn't exactly nuanced. I confess that I've never considered any of the others complete in part because I have a terrible time with second verses. "Dancing on the Moon" is also a little gimmicky and may undergo a total rewrite saving only the title hook, which had played in my head for years. "I Only Fall in Love...", "a Wisher's Eyes" and "Aged Castle" are the cases where I really think I might have struck gold. I played their melodies out on the piano the other day and thought "Hey, that's quite good. People might really enjoy hearing that." "Things You're Supposed to Feel" is my most recent composition and there might actually be two songs lurking in there, as the verses and the chorus seem to address different subject, each worth singing about.
Whether or not these will ever meet anyone else's ears on record has yet to be decided, but it's certainly a fun hobby.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Listening Journal 3
Nirvana - Bleach
-sounds awesome at high volume on terrible speakers
-not so good on earbuds
Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors
-can't remember the last time I hated an album this much
-I feel sorry for the kid, and I hate myself for it because this is exactly what he wants
-what I don't get about serial daters - why so emotional about it? you know you're going to fall for a new person soon after your breakup, so why act like your life is over after this one?
-what aggravates me most is that there's some real melodic sense on display here, but it's overshadowed by the kid's narcissism
-things get better - I did give Cassadaga an honorable mention a couple of days ago
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner
-hilarious, and Waits' rapport with the crowd is great
-band is solid, but I'd like to hear more instrumental work
-the songwriting is a little lacking and formulaic at this point, though occasionally effective
-"Better Off Without a Wife" - engaged friends, please listen to this one
-sounds awesome at high volume on terrible speakers
-not so good on earbuds
Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors
-can't remember the last time I hated an album this much
-I feel sorry for the kid, and I hate myself for it because this is exactly what he wants
-what I don't get about serial daters - why so emotional about it? you know you're going to fall for a new person soon after your breakup, so why act like your life is over after this one?
-what aggravates me most is that there's some real melodic sense on display here, but it's overshadowed by the kid's narcissism
-things get better - I did give Cassadaga an honorable mention a couple of days ago
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner
-hilarious, and Waits' rapport with the crowd is great
-band is solid, but I'd like to hear more instrumental work
-the songwriting is a little lacking and formulaic at this point, though occasionally effective
-"Better Off Without a Wife" - engaged friends, please listen to this one
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Favorite Albums of the 2000s
Not the best-informed list in the world. I spent most of the decade catching up on the previous 50 years of rock history and still haven't heard tons of supposedly good stuff from the aughts.
10. Back Home – Caedmon’s Call – It’s fitting that the Contemporary Christian Music industry is headquartered in Nashville, because only mainstream country faces tighter artistic restriction. And so Back Home is the bravest album on the list. The lyrics flow from some forgotten hymnal and the arrangements from plain, pasture and mountain. It favors doctrinal insight over smarmy therapeutics is all the more emotionally affecting for it. There are a handful of clunkers, but even a couple of the white female numbers stand up. It is a true rarity, a worthwhile CCM album.
9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend – They crossed the deep rift between contemporary black and white music by going to the source, crafting sprightly, jittery Afro-pop chronicling the woes and joys of white nerds. Leave it to the townies to keep me from getting into their concert.
8. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive – A distillation of all they do best. One this one, the stories are sharper, the jokes funnier and the guitar pyrotechnics pulverize their Neil Schon origins. The lapsed Catholicism gets two of its best expressions, “Lord I’m Discouraged” and “Both Crosses” and the constant stream of allusions to their earlier work indicates that they’ve perhaps given up on the worse parts of youth. But the dream is still alive.
7. I’m Not There Soundtrack – Duh, the songs are good. The songs on the Across the Universe soundtrack are also good, and they earn that album a whole bloody star. But for this soundtrack, the producers assembled a crackerjack session band and courted artists of little fame but great merit, who dug through some dark recesses of Dylan’s back catalogue and totally reinvented or at least rocked the tarnish off of almost every cut. 34 tracks and only 5 are less than wonderful.
6. Tom Waits – Alice – I don’t catch many lyrical allusions to its literary namesake, but it’s an appropriate soundtrack to a mad land that plays by indiscernible rules if it plays by any at all. Waits shows why he’s the greatest active arranger in pop music, setting “Flower’s Grave” against a clarinet choir that makes saccharine sentiments wrenching, and fine tunes his junkyard orchestrations for each new bit of devilry.
5. Radiohead – Kid A – Forget difficult, forget innovative. It only takes two listens to figure out how these parts fit together, and there’s nothing sonic here that you can’t find in Brian Eno or Aphex Twin. Kid A is a masterpiece because of pure craftsmanship, because within its opening measure, the thickest keyboard lick of all time, it draws us into a gorgeous, terrifying world from which we can only escape by turning off the record. Yorke sings like a man whose only scrap of humanity is his voice, and only by crying out can he hope to regain the rest of him. On “Idioteque,” he drones “Here I’m allowed everything all of the time,” a proclamation that becomes more frighteningly true with each year.
4. The Arcade Fire – Funeral – Pulse is everything. Decorate the songs as ostentatiously as you will, but if any ornament isn’t pointing back toward that low thud at the center, it has to go. The Arcade Fire makes communal music, drawing its listeners into its own ranks, urging them to join in the wake up cry, the public mourning for the departed. This album’s lament for the end of youth will continue to resonate when the time comes for my own funeral.
3. Outkast – Stankonia – Its first half contains the last word on unplanned fatherhood (“Ms. Jackson”), a piece of braggadocio that fully validates itself (“So Fresh, So Clean”), and a bit of interplanetary funksmanship that manages to indict the whole American identity and remain squarely apolitical. The second contains “B.O.B.” and cut after cut of hip-hop so original and so natural that you wonder why no one had done it before and why no one’s tried it again.
2. Frog Eyes – Tears of the Valedictorian – It’s so easy to chalk down a formula for the mystical. Slow tempos, some open keyboard vamp, meaningless strings of space poetry and boom. But then the mystical becomes comprehensible and the mystery is lost. This album gets it. You can’t parse the instrumentals. You can’t pick up more than a word here and there. You don’t understand, you submit to the maniacal chaos and you let it feel you through states of heart and mind long forgotten.
1. TV on the Radio – Dear Science – Despite my love for Return to Cookie Mountain, I was entirely unprepared for this grand amalgamation of everything great about black music, white music and computer music. Dance to it, cry to it, introspect to it, drive to it, sing along to it and it will never let you down. The finale, “Lover’s Day” is so deeply felt that the only thing really comparable in rock history is “Layla” and it makes me ask from my inexperience, “Is it really that good?”
15 Honorable Mentions
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Audioslave – Audioslave
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Jay-Z – The Black Album
LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute
Mastodon – Blood Mountain
Joanna Newsom – Ys.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
The Strokes – Is This It?
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
10 Critically Acclaimed Albums I Never Understood
Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Burial – Untrue
Coldplay – any album
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Green Day – American Idiot
Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights
The National - Boxer
Panda Bear – Person Pitch
Bruce Springsteen – any 2000s albums
U2 – All that You Can’t Leave Behind
10. Back Home – Caedmon’s Call – It’s fitting that the Contemporary Christian Music industry is headquartered in Nashville, because only mainstream country faces tighter artistic restriction. And so Back Home is the bravest album on the list. The lyrics flow from some forgotten hymnal and the arrangements from plain, pasture and mountain. It favors doctrinal insight over smarmy therapeutics is all the more emotionally affecting for it. There are a handful of clunkers, but even a couple of the white female numbers stand up. It is a true rarity, a worthwhile CCM album.
9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend – They crossed the deep rift between contemporary black and white music by going to the source, crafting sprightly, jittery Afro-pop chronicling the woes and joys of white nerds. Leave it to the townies to keep me from getting into their concert.
8. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive – A distillation of all they do best. One this one, the stories are sharper, the jokes funnier and the guitar pyrotechnics pulverize their Neil Schon origins. The lapsed Catholicism gets two of its best expressions, “Lord I’m Discouraged” and “Both Crosses” and the constant stream of allusions to their earlier work indicates that they’ve perhaps given up on the worse parts of youth. But the dream is still alive.
7. I’m Not There Soundtrack – Duh, the songs are good. The songs on the Across the Universe soundtrack are also good, and they earn that album a whole bloody star. But for this soundtrack, the producers assembled a crackerjack session band and courted artists of little fame but great merit, who dug through some dark recesses of Dylan’s back catalogue and totally reinvented or at least rocked the tarnish off of almost every cut. 34 tracks and only 5 are less than wonderful.
6. Tom Waits – Alice – I don’t catch many lyrical allusions to its literary namesake, but it’s an appropriate soundtrack to a mad land that plays by indiscernible rules if it plays by any at all. Waits shows why he’s the greatest active arranger in pop music, setting “Flower’s Grave” against a clarinet choir that makes saccharine sentiments wrenching, and fine tunes his junkyard orchestrations for each new bit of devilry.
5. Radiohead – Kid A – Forget difficult, forget innovative. It only takes two listens to figure out how these parts fit together, and there’s nothing sonic here that you can’t find in Brian Eno or Aphex Twin. Kid A is a masterpiece because of pure craftsmanship, because within its opening measure, the thickest keyboard lick of all time, it draws us into a gorgeous, terrifying world from which we can only escape by turning off the record. Yorke sings like a man whose only scrap of humanity is his voice, and only by crying out can he hope to regain the rest of him. On “Idioteque,” he drones “Here I’m allowed everything all of the time,” a proclamation that becomes more frighteningly true with each year.
4. The Arcade Fire – Funeral – Pulse is everything. Decorate the songs as ostentatiously as you will, but if any ornament isn’t pointing back toward that low thud at the center, it has to go. The Arcade Fire makes communal music, drawing its listeners into its own ranks, urging them to join in the wake up cry, the public mourning for the departed. This album’s lament for the end of youth will continue to resonate when the time comes for my own funeral.
3. Outkast – Stankonia – Its first half contains the last word on unplanned fatherhood (“Ms. Jackson”), a piece of braggadocio that fully validates itself (“So Fresh, So Clean”), and a bit of interplanetary funksmanship that manages to indict the whole American identity and remain squarely apolitical. The second contains “B.O.B.” and cut after cut of hip-hop so original and so natural that you wonder why no one had done it before and why no one’s tried it again.
2. Frog Eyes – Tears of the Valedictorian – It’s so easy to chalk down a formula for the mystical. Slow tempos, some open keyboard vamp, meaningless strings of space poetry and boom. But then the mystical becomes comprehensible and the mystery is lost. This album gets it. You can’t parse the instrumentals. You can’t pick up more than a word here and there. You don’t understand, you submit to the maniacal chaos and you let it feel you through states of heart and mind long forgotten.
1. TV on the Radio – Dear Science – Despite my love for Return to Cookie Mountain, I was entirely unprepared for this grand amalgamation of everything great about black music, white music and computer music. Dance to it, cry to it, introspect to it, drive to it, sing along to it and it will never let you down. The finale, “Lover’s Day” is so deeply felt that the only thing really comparable in rock history is “Layla” and it makes me ask from my inexperience, “Is it really that good?”
15 Honorable Mentions
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Audioslave – Audioslave
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Jay-Z – The Black Album
LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute
Mastodon – Blood Mountain
Joanna Newsom – Ys.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
The Strokes – Is This It?
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
10 Critically Acclaimed Albums I Never Understood
Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Burial – Untrue
Coldplay – any album
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Green Day – American Idiot
Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights
The National - Boxer
Panda Bear – Person Pitch
Bruce Springsteen – any 2000s albums
U2 – All that You Can’t Leave Behind
Monday, December 14, 2009
Bad Form, Mr. Kelly
I have no stake and little interest in college football. My alma mater is Division III, and in nearly every aspect of the game, the professionals provide superior entertainment. That said, I think that Brian Kelly's recent decision to cut short his contract with the University of Cincinnati and accept the head coaching job at Notre Dame is truly poor sportsmanship and I feel terrible for UC players and fans.
To begin with, I don't understand the timetable of the situation. UC has risen to national prominence this year, going undefeated in the regular season and earning a Bowl game against the University of Florida, an historic program led by a serious Heisman candidate. Rather than finishing what he started, Mr. Kelly has chosen to move immediately to a higher paying job with a team whose season is effectively over. Would Notre Dame's interest really have waned if Mr. Kelly had finished out the season and perhaps even coached the team to a Sugar Bowl victory?
Perhaps more importantly, I don't understand Mr. Kelly's lack of commitment. In my experience, one's teammates are what make team sports worth playing. We are able to give our greatest efforts only because we can stand on the line, waiting for play to begin, look our teammates in the eye and know that they are going to give the same. Our delight in victory is magnified because it is shared. Granted, I've never been offered a multimillion dollar contract, but to abandon one's team for money would seem to suck the sport of all its joy.
In light of this loss and a remarkable season, I wish UC the very best against Florida.
To begin with, I don't understand the timetable of the situation. UC has risen to national prominence this year, going undefeated in the regular season and earning a Bowl game against the University of Florida, an historic program led by a serious Heisman candidate. Rather than finishing what he started, Mr. Kelly has chosen to move immediately to a higher paying job with a team whose season is effectively over. Would Notre Dame's interest really have waned if Mr. Kelly had finished out the season and perhaps even coached the team to a Sugar Bowl victory?
Perhaps more importantly, I don't understand Mr. Kelly's lack of commitment. In my experience, one's teammates are what make team sports worth playing. We are able to give our greatest efforts only because we can stand on the line, waiting for play to begin, look our teammates in the eye and know that they are going to give the same. Our delight in victory is magnified because it is shared. Granted, I've never been offered a multimillion dollar contract, but to abandon one's team for money would seem to suck the sport of all its joy.
In light of this loss and a remarkable season, I wish UC the very best against Florida.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Pet Peeves
Blogs are for venting, right? A few annoyances that I hear repeatedly:
"I'm more conservative than Republican." Guess what? If you're an American conservative, you've got one serious political option - support the Republican Party and its candidates. Whether or not they're conservative as you'd like them to be, they're invariably more conservative than the Democrats, and this alignment isn't changing any time soon, so this statement has a cash value of about zero. And no, I don't consider third party support to be a serious political option.
"Christianity isn't a religion; it's a relationship." I know that you're trying to be provocative, that you're trying to emphasize that what Christianity is aimed at is the repair of relationships between God and people. But Christianity is also a set of doctrines and practices concerning the ultimate meaning and purpose of the universe, making it a religion. Your formulation is cute, but it's not true.
"That's so meta." Used to describe any ponderance or statement that's esoteric or abstract, and usually pejorative, an accusation of snootiness. However, "meta" is a prefix, not an independent adjective, and there's nothing wrong with snootiness. Legitimate use as prefix - "Many of Harold Bloom's writings are metacritical, describing the proper role of a literary critic in society."
"I like to listen to classical/jazz (only) when I need to relax." - It's certainly true that there is relaxing classical music and that there is relaxing jazz. But I find that both genres are more often invigorating, terrifying, demanding, wrenching. That's also why I don't listen to them as often as I should. Nothing wrong with listening to music to relax, but people who say this are usually revealing a very narrow vision of what these types of music can do.
"I'm more conservative than Republican." Guess what? If you're an American conservative, you've got one serious political option - support the Republican Party and its candidates. Whether or not they're conservative as you'd like them to be, they're invariably more conservative than the Democrats, and this alignment isn't changing any time soon, so this statement has a cash value of about zero. And no, I don't consider third party support to be a serious political option.
"Christianity isn't a religion; it's a relationship." I know that you're trying to be provocative, that you're trying to emphasize that what Christianity is aimed at is the repair of relationships between God and people. But Christianity is also a set of doctrines and practices concerning the ultimate meaning and purpose of the universe, making it a religion. Your formulation is cute, but it's not true.
"That's so meta." Used to describe any ponderance or statement that's esoteric or abstract, and usually pejorative, an accusation of snootiness. However, "meta" is a prefix, not an independent adjective, and there's nothing wrong with snootiness. Legitimate use as prefix - "Many of Harold Bloom's writings are metacritical, describing the proper role of a literary critic in society."
"I like to listen to classical/jazz (only) when I need to relax." - It's certainly true that there is relaxing classical music and that there is relaxing jazz. But I find that both genres are more often invigorating, terrifying, demanding, wrenching. That's also why I don't listen to them as often as I should. Nothing wrong with listening to music to relax, but people who say this are usually revealing a very narrow vision of what these types of music can do.
Listening Journal 2
In order to keep up with my idea, I'm going to avoid trying to be comprehensive. If something impresses me, I'll record it here. If I'm unimpressed by something with a big reputation, I'll record it here.
R.E.M. - Murmur
-the playing is thoroughly rudimentary, but the songs themselves are surprisingly complicated
-some sort of songwriting genius is at work in that the verses never predict the choruses, but they transition and mesh seamlessly - see "Laughing," "9-9"
-perhaps the genius lies in the juxtaposition of post-punk riffs with folkie sonics -angular licks and hints of polyrhythms
-writing is distinctly riff-based, not chord progression based, which immediately distinguishes it from so much folk rock
-production is brilliant - again reliant on the juxtaposition of dull drum and bass with guitar chime
-like so many great albums, this sketches some sort of journey in an alternate universe
-Some albums are great for obvious reasons - this is one I think I could speculate about for hours and never dissect - note the number of perhapses here
-formula - Big Star meets Gang of Four
-perhaps the best rock debut of the past three decades - only serious challengers in my view are Jeff Buckley and The Arcade Fire
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
-if you'd only heard his more recent work, you might not realize this was him - voice is austere, but tuneful and subtle
-the arrangements are gentle in timbre, but not in harmony - they suggest the deep darkness of his lyrics
-and Cohen is probably the most poetic of all rock lyricists - he's not necessarily the best, but his lyrics read most like poetry and have the best-developed patterns of imagery
-the great contrast here - the gentleness of Cohen's voice and the menace of his words
-the arrangements are also repetitive, and the songs often have too many verses, making this a bit of a chore to hear in one go
-it's unique, it's an essential listen, but I'd rather hear these (or any Cohen songs) as part of a playlist
R.E.M. - Murmur
-the playing is thoroughly rudimentary, but the songs themselves are surprisingly complicated
-some sort of songwriting genius is at work in that the verses never predict the choruses, but they transition and mesh seamlessly - see "Laughing," "9-9"
-perhaps the genius lies in the juxtaposition of post-punk riffs with folkie sonics -angular licks and hints of polyrhythms
-writing is distinctly riff-based, not chord progression based, which immediately distinguishes it from so much folk rock
-production is brilliant - again reliant on the juxtaposition of dull drum and bass with guitar chime
-like so many great albums, this sketches some sort of journey in an alternate universe
-Some albums are great for obvious reasons - this is one I think I could speculate about for hours and never dissect - note the number of perhapses here
-formula - Big Star meets Gang of Four
-perhaps the best rock debut of the past three decades - only serious challengers in my view are Jeff Buckley and The Arcade Fire
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
-if you'd only heard his more recent work, you might not realize this was him - voice is austere, but tuneful and subtle
-the arrangements are gentle in timbre, but not in harmony - they suggest the deep darkness of his lyrics
-and Cohen is probably the most poetic of all rock lyricists - he's not necessarily the best, but his lyrics read most like poetry and have the best-developed patterns of imagery
-the great contrast here - the gentleness of Cohen's voice and the menace of his words
-the arrangements are also repetitive, and the songs often have too many verses, making this a bit of a chore to hear in one go
-it's unique, it's an essential listen, but I'd rather hear these (or any Cohen songs) as part of a playlist
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Listening Journal 1
Blue Oyster Cult - Blue Oyster Cult
-surprising instrumental capabilities, excellent guitar solo construction
-despite classification as proto-metal, everything is understated, and the mood is chilly
-"Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll" is out of place - a straightforward anthem, doesn't sit well with the subtle fantasies of the other songs
-vocals are the band's weak point - no menace, little expression
-a shame that classic rock radio ignores this album, much better than the band's later output
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan
-this is not the Dylan voice - it's too earnest and too country
-the originals are very strong, esp. "Talkin' New York" which conveys a precise sense of bewilderment
-Bob whips up quite a frenzy on that acoustic
-had he recorded this, no one would remember him, but nevertheless a worthy listen for his fans, and a fine starting point
Bob Dylan - The Freewheeling Bob Dylan
-the lyrics on the originals still make sense
-the most famous songs on the album are also the best, "Girl From the North Country" being my favorite
-voice is developing that distinctive whine, but the delivery is still straightforward
-can already detect a sense of self-awareness on the sillier tunes, as if he anticipated his own legend
-a perfect album for a fall walk
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin'
-the wordiest of these early albums, and the most consistently and overtly political
-melody sometimes less important than lyrics - verses exist for narrative with no new musical development
-and yet the melodies are indelible
-title track is, in my opinion, the most transcendent political song ever written, and "With God On Our Side" isn't as good, but absolutely timeless
-"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is also among the best songs of this period
-overall, my favorite of Dylan's early period (first four albums)
Bob Dylan - Another Side of Bob Dylan
-less politics more humor, somewhat less melody
-but the funny stuff is truly funny
-less memorable songs than on previous two - I've never thought too much of this album
-the first Dylan album that seems to be a deliberate response to public perception of him - see "It Ain't Me, Babe" esp.
-surprising instrumental capabilities, excellent guitar solo construction
-despite classification as proto-metal, everything is understated, and the mood is chilly
-"Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll" is out of place - a straightforward anthem, doesn't sit well with the subtle fantasies of the other songs
-vocals are the band's weak point - no menace, little expression
-a shame that classic rock radio ignores this album, much better than the band's later output
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan
-this is not the Dylan voice - it's too earnest and too country
-the originals are very strong, esp. "Talkin' New York" which conveys a precise sense of bewilderment
-Bob whips up quite a frenzy on that acoustic
-had he recorded this, no one would remember him, but nevertheless a worthy listen for his fans, and a fine starting point
Bob Dylan - The Freewheeling Bob Dylan
-the lyrics on the originals still make sense
-the most famous songs on the album are also the best, "Girl From the North Country" being my favorite
-voice is developing that distinctive whine, but the delivery is still straightforward
-can already detect a sense of self-awareness on the sillier tunes, as if he anticipated his own legend
-a perfect album for a fall walk
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin'
-the wordiest of these early albums, and the most consistently and overtly political
-melody sometimes less important than lyrics - verses exist for narrative with no new musical development
-and yet the melodies are indelible
-title track is, in my opinion, the most transcendent political song ever written, and "With God On Our Side" isn't as good, but absolutely timeless
-"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is also among the best songs of this period
-overall, my favorite of Dylan's early period (first four albums)
Bob Dylan - Another Side of Bob Dylan
-less politics more humor, somewhat less melody
-but the funny stuff is truly funny
-less memorable songs than on previous two - I've never thought too much of this album
-the first Dylan album that seems to be a deliberate response to public perception of him - see "It Ain't Me, Babe" esp.
Listening Journal
I've been preoccupied lately and unsure of what to do with the blog. Too tired to think of a good song for each day, not focused enough to write a book, movie or TV review, though I've seen and read plenty of good stuff lately. Personal life uneventful - working, waiting to hear back from grad schools. I finally purchased a Zune and it's delightful. Whereas I used to try to acquire only the most important album or two from artists I like, I'm now free to download entire discographies. Along those lines, I'm going to try to keep an online listening journal, recording a few notes about each album I hear, whether it's new or completely familiar. Since I'm often listening to albums only once or twice right now, I won't assign ratings to anything, and I will probably write in bullet points. It's my notebook, and you're welcome to read it.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Muddy Waters Tribute
The first verse:
Give me coffee in the evening, and a glass of beer when I get out of bed
Give me coffee in the evening, and a glass of beer when I get out of bed
Give me coffee in the evening, and a glass of beer when I get out of bed
Woman, you here to serve me, just like the Good Book says
A genre exercise, not a meant to be taken seriously. Might start blogging for real again soon.
Give me coffee in the evening, and a glass of beer when I get out of bed
Give me coffee in the evening, and a glass of beer when I get out of bed
Give me coffee in the evening, and a glass of beer when I get out of bed
Woman, you here to serve me, just like the Good Book says
A genre exercise, not a meant to be taken seriously. Might start blogging for real again soon.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
All-Time Overrated Album List
Over and over again, they appear on the kind of “Best Album” lists music magazines like to publish. I give my own star ratings out of five. Ranking is based on difference between critical status and actual quality.
10. The Beautiful Letdown – Switchfoot – No critic’s darling, this makes the list because I’ve heard scores of Christians use it to justify the artistic worth of an entire subgenre. I’ve bashed CCM enough already, but this album deserves special mention for its miserable eclecticism. Few records manage so many different kinds of unpleasant: cracker jive poetry (“The Beautiful Letdown”, “Gone”), self-help as salvation (“Dare You To Move”) a Soundgarden cast-off shrunken in the wash (“Meant to Live”), and a ballad whose inscrutable conceit at best guess comes from a Benthamite network action program (“24”), and pervasive preachy cultural commentary. 1 star
9. Nevermind – Nirvana – The most important album of the 90s as far as the industry is concerned, but hardly the best. The opening of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” never fails to cause some impressive recoil, but the tune itself outstays its welcome by two or so minutes. The next four cuts are undeniable, but then along comes “Polly” and only like three people in history have even made it all the way through side 2. Note: The follow-up, In Utero, is a truly great album. 4 stars
8. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac – Tell you the truth, I like this album quite a bit. It’s warm and it’s melodic and a couple of its cuts shed some light on my own past romantic dysfunctions. I can say exactly the same thing about hundreds of other albums, including one or two in the band’s own catalog, and none of them ever were ever called the 25th best album of all time. 3.5 stars
7. At Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band – It boogies like hell. Trouble is that I often find the rhythm section, which cheats by having two drummers, more compelling than the guitarists, and often as not, the solos piledrive a single lick to death. An enjoyable but hardly revelatory affair. 3.5 stars
6. Tommy – The Who – The music is fitfully gripping, but the plotline of the world’s first rock opera is moronic (woot), especially on film. I like people on drugs just fine, so long as they realize that they’re on drugs and don’t try to go all philosophical on you. Commentary on empiricism ignored, even the best cuts here are gimmicks, and the ferocious physicality of the band’s best work is missing. 2.5 stars
5. Untrue – Burial – I still recall my first time listening to this record, being fully drawn into the pleading soundscapes of “Archangel”. Then cut after cut tried to draw me in again, employing the same timbres and rhythmic hiccups, with exponentially diminishing returns. 2.5 stars
4. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis – Admittedly, their first album has some dumb fun to it, but the pretentions arrived an album earlier than critics generally acknowledge. “Wonderwall” is melodically stunted, “Champagne Supernova” contains some of the stupidest lines ever penned this side of Neil Diamond, and the rockers tread water in a sea of atrocious production. To their credit, I don’t think they took a single thing from the Beatles. 1.5 stars
3. Paranoid – Black Sabbath – It birthed heavy metal, which explains most things detestable about the genre. The rhythm section is slovenly, the production has the girth of an anorexic and Ozzy has a grand doubles the guitar parts at a quarter tone flat. The titular anthem is an admittedly good time. 3 stars
2. Hotel California – The Eagles – 3rd wave hippies think the title cut “means something”, people who don’t play guitar are impressed by the solo and white people from the suburbs dig da reggae riddim mon. There’s an album attached to it that nobody gives a rat’s rear about. 2.5 stars
1. Never Mind the Bullocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols – A little secret: I’ve not once listened to this album from beginning to end. It’s poorly played, which is fine if the songs are short and light and peppy, but not when they’re long and sluggish and nihilistic. It broke punk about 8 years after punk was invented, so it might as well have invented it, right? For my money, The Buzzcocks’ “Singles Going Steady” is twice as offensive (see: “Orgasm Addict”) and ten times as fun (see: “Orgasm Addict”). 2 stars
10. The Beautiful Letdown – Switchfoot – No critic’s darling, this makes the list because I’ve heard scores of Christians use it to justify the artistic worth of an entire subgenre. I’ve bashed CCM enough already, but this album deserves special mention for its miserable eclecticism. Few records manage so many different kinds of unpleasant: cracker jive poetry (“The Beautiful Letdown”, “Gone”), self-help as salvation (“Dare You To Move”) a Soundgarden cast-off shrunken in the wash (“Meant to Live”), and a ballad whose inscrutable conceit at best guess comes from a Benthamite network action program (“24”), and pervasive preachy cultural commentary. 1 star
9. Nevermind – Nirvana – The most important album of the 90s as far as the industry is concerned, but hardly the best. The opening of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” never fails to cause some impressive recoil, but the tune itself outstays its welcome by two or so minutes. The next four cuts are undeniable, but then along comes “Polly” and only like three people in history have even made it all the way through side 2. Note: The follow-up, In Utero, is a truly great album. 4 stars
8. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac – Tell you the truth, I like this album quite a bit. It’s warm and it’s melodic and a couple of its cuts shed some light on my own past romantic dysfunctions. I can say exactly the same thing about hundreds of other albums, including one or two in the band’s own catalog, and none of them ever were ever called the 25th best album of all time. 3.5 stars
7. At Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band – It boogies like hell. Trouble is that I often find the rhythm section, which cheats by having two drummers, more compelling than the guitarists, and often as not, the solos piledrive a single lick to death. An enjoyable but hardly revelatory affair. 3.5 stars
6. Tommy – The Who – The music is fitfully gripping, but the plotline of the world’s first rock opera is moronic (woot), especially on film. I like people on drugs just fine, so long as they realize that they’re on drugs and don’t try to go all philosophical on you. Commentary on empiricism ignored, even the best cuts here are gimmicks, and the ferocious physicality of the band’s best work is missing. 2.5 stars
5. Untrue – Burial – I still recall my first time listening to this record, being fully drawn into the pleading soundscapes of “Archangel”. Then cut after cut tried to draw me in again, employing the same timbres and rhythmic hiccups, with exponentially diminishing returns. 2.5 stars
4. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis – Admittedly, their first album has some dumb fun to it, but the pretentions arrived an album earlier than critics generally acknowledge. “Wonderwall” is melodically stunted, “Champagne Supernova” contains some of the stupidest lines ever penned this side of Neil Diamond, and the rockers tread water in a sea of atrocious production. To their credit, I don’t think they took a single thing from the Beatles. 1.5 stars
3. Paranoid – Black Sabbath – It birthed heavy metal, which explains most things detestable about the genre. The rhythm section is slovenly, the production has the girth of an anorexic and Ozzy has a grand doubles the guitar parts at a quarter tone flat. The titular anthem is an admittedly good time. 3 stars
2. Hotel California – The Eagles – 3rd wave hippies think the title cut “means something”, people who don’t play guitar are impressed by the solo and white people from the suburbs dig da reggae riddim mon. There’s an album attached to it that nobody gives a rat’s rear about. 2.5 stars
1. Never Mind the Bullocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols – A little secret: I’ve not once listened to this album from beginning to end. It’s poorly played, which is fine if the songs are short and light and peppy, but not when they’re long and sluggish and nihilistic. It broke punk about 8 years after punk was invented, so it might as well have invented it, right? For my money, The Buzzcocks’ “Singles Going Steady” is twice as offensive (see: “Orgasm Addict”) and ten times as fun (see: “Orgasm Addict”). 2 stars
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
"I Can't Win, Cause I Don't Have a Thing to Lose"
Customer name week was unfortunately cut short by travel. It was worth it.
Damn Right Ive Got the Blues - Buddy Guy
Damn Right Ive Got the Blues - Buddy Guy
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Customer Name Week
When a customer places a drink order at our bar, we typically take the customer's name so as to call out his or her drink when it is ready. Whenever that name has a song associated with it, I have the urge to sing that song. Unfortunately, I discovered long ago that most people have heard their song before, and they do not appreciate it. This week, I will use the blog to provide a little catharsis for myself by featuring songs using the names of frequent customers.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Incredible Piece of Obama Memorabilia...Cancelled
There is a medium sized American industry dedicated to collectibles bearing likenesses of Presidential visages. Such items are typically manufactured in lots of 5000 and advertised in word search puzzle anthologies and coupon sections of the Community Press. Said collectibles are generally inoffensive. One notable exception is the Barack Obama chia pet, recently pulled from CVS pharmacies due to customer complaints. I suppose it is offensive because: (a) Barack Obama is a Muslim, (b) Barack Obama is a prophet (c) Muslims don't like visual representations of their prophets.
Note: I was just inspired to begin writing my Christmas list.
Note: I was just inspired to begin writing my Christmas list.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Zing from PJ
The first reading is for the jokes, the second is for the point. There's no other way to put this, PJ O'Rourke hands Jimmy Carter his ass in this editorial piece. Best line: "And when it comes to repression of Latinos, Cuba takes the gold, tyrannizing 11,184,022 out of 11,184,023 Cubans."
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Book Rundown
These are substantially easier to write than full reviews. Maybe someday I'll read something really excellent again and say something lengthier.
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin - The first novel in A Song of Fire and Ice, this volume has the reputation for being the medievalist fantasy that destroys all cliches, revitalizes the genre, best since Tolkien, blah blah blah. Martin develops a very large cast of lords and ladies and sets them scheming for control of the Seven Kingdoms. It's brutally violent, sexually frank and doesn't so much blur the line between good and evil as obliterate it - individuals may be vicious or virtuous, but all political groupings are selfishly ambitious. The characters are fascinating, though their relations and titles are extremely confusing and those the prose is merely serviceable, there are passages of great wonder and moral fiber. Unfortunately, the novel ends just as the major powers have really been sent into play and so feels incomplete. The POV changes with every chapter, and many chapters end with cliff-hangers, so that one must often read several chapters further for resolution. This is a gimmicky way to pace the novel but incredibly effective, as I regularly read more in my sessions than planned. I've already reserved the second book in the series. Worthwhile
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - The humorist's droll collection of personal essays is delightfully understated, self-depreciating but not apologetic, and absurd but not strange. Thanks to my sister for introducing me to Sedaris. Worthwhile
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - It was popular, I was suspicious, the masses were vindicated. This is an engrossing story that encompasses many of literature's greatest themes: love, honor, betrayal, country, family, atonement. Themes and plot elements are familiar but not cliched. The novel becomes rather too self-consciously literary toward the end, creating heavy-handed parallels to earlier scenes, and its explanation of evil seems to be that sadism is for sadism's sake but it retains a devastating impact even in these last chapters. A rare contemporary novel that actually deserves its audience. Worthwhile
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin - The first novel in A Song of Fire and Ice, this volume has the reputation for being the medievalist fantasy that destroys all cliches, revitalizes the genre, best since Tolkien, blah blah blah. Martin develops a very large cast of lords and ladies and sets them scheming for control of the Seven Kingdoms. It's brutally violent, sexually frank and doesn't so much blur the line between good and evil as obliterate it - individuals may be vicious or virtuous, but all political groupings are selfishly ambitious. The characters are fascinating, though their relations and titles are extremely confusing and those the prose is merely serviceable, there are passages of great wonder and moral fiber. Unfortunately, the novel ends just as the major powers have really been sent into play and so feels incomplete. The POV changes with every chapter, and many chapters end with cliff-hangers, so that one must often read several chapters further for resolution. This is a gimmicky way to pace the novel but incredibly effective, as I regularly read more in my sessions than planned. I've already reserved the second book in the series. Worthwhile
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - The humorist's droll collection of personal essays is delightfully understated, self-depreciating but not apologetic, and absurd but not strange. Thanks to my sister for introducing me to Sedaris. Worthwhile
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - It was popular, I was suspicious, the masses were vindicated. This is an engrossing story that encompasses many of literature's greatest themes: love, honor, betrayal, country, family, atonement. Themes and plot elements are familiar but not cliched. The novel becomes rather too self-consciously literary toward the end, creating heavy-handed parallels to earlier scenes, and its explanation of evil seems to be that sadism is for sadism's sake but it retains a devastating impact even in these last chapters. A rare contemporary novel that actually deserves its audience. Worthwhile
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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