Songs come and go and it's easy to get obsessed with one song for a few months (I'm looking at you "No Leaf Clover") and then, however many years later, the song is gone from your daily/weekly/monthly listening habits. Part of this is because over time people's musical tastes change and part of it is because sometimes the veneer of a song can fade over time for whatever reason ("Drive In, Drive Out"). But some songs never leave. For me, these songs are like a cross section of my life. They are integral somehow. I would explain each song and put a link to youtube or something for each song, but I think music should be discovered, not forced. These aren't necessarily my "favorite" songs and they aren't the "best" songs. These are the songs that just get me every time.
1.) The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
2.) Grey Street
3.) Halloween
4.) True Love Waits
5.) Citizen Erased
6.) #41
7.) Hannah Jane
8.) Fidelity
9.) Let Down
10.) Starlight
11.) Evaporated
12.) Sullivan Street
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Two Things
I have two things to write about, both are songs, and both are songs that mean a lot to me. First up is Radiohead, second up is The Dave Matthews Band.
For years I have been listening to Radiohead. I cannot write coherently about how good they are and how much I like them. They have been around since 1992/3ish but I only started listening to them in probably 2004/5. Amazingly enough the first song of theirs that I really connected with (other than thinking "Creep" was cool because of the guitar bit in the chorus - now I like Creep for wholly different reasons) was Planet Telex - which is the first song off of The Bends which was their second album. So I started with their second album and my listening history pretty much followed the correct chronological order (OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows) whilst skipping over completely Pablo Honey. I did not discover how good the songs off of Pablo Honey were until I bought Radiohead: The Astoria London Live. (GO BUY THIS) I have also gotten into certain B-side songs - as all true fans of bands should do - and one of them in particular has been a song I have been in absolute love with since I first heard it.
True Love Waits is one of those songs that I don't even remember how I came to have it on my computer. But somehow I got a file on my computer that was obviously a live pull of some sort and at the beginning Thom says: "This is a brand new song that nobody's heard before." Remember that I didn't start listening to RH 'til about 2004/5 and the song file had no time stamp or anything to indicate when or where it might have come from. And I wasn't all that bothered about it, the song is so good that it doesn't matter when/where it's from. But so I'm cruising along last week just scrounging on youtube for something (as with all youtube sessions whatever original video I had come their to watch was long forgotten and I was on some tangential torrent in youtubeland) and I came across this:
True Love Waits - 1st Time Ever!
So of course I clicked on it and the first thing I see is: Brussels - April 12th, 1995. And then Thom says "This is a brand new song that nobody's heard before." Cue goosebumps, jaw dropping, and that feeling near my stomach that I get when someone I care about says or does something incredibly thoughtful for me and I don't know how to emotionally handle it. I know that no one else will have this same reaction to this tiny little video but I needed to share with everyone how profoundly it affected me. The idea that the song was first performed when I was TEN, first performed when I was probably thinking about cute 5th grade girls and how awesome fade patterns are this song that would come to mean so much to me was first being played in a country thousands of miles away, and then someone filmed it (and in 1995 they probably had one of those big freaking vhs recorders) and then, TEN more years later when YouTube was invented: "Hey I've got this old VHS from ten years ago, I'll put it on YouTube"...I don't even know how to react to all of that.
Second thing - people that know me know that I enjoy the Dave Matthews Band. Most people think that I am obsessed with them and all I do is listen to Ants Marching or something. Which is completely not true now. I have completely diversified my musical interests and do not listen to nearly as much DMB as I used to - which means that I still do listen to them quite a bit. Half of a ton is still 1,000 pounds. But so I was wondering through YouTube again...wait, some back story needs to be told first. I'll be quick about it.
The Dave Matthews Band performs a song called "Grey Street". This is a song that was officially released on the 2002 LP Busted Stuff. But hardcore fans, like myself, had been listening to it for years already because they had been playing it live since 2000 (and Dave encourages taping/distributing of their live shows, see upcoming FN) and it was, shall we say, unofficially released on The Lillywhite Sessions LP (more backstory) that everyone had in 2001. This is a song that takes some explaining because it is an integral part of the band. When it was first played in the summer of 2000 it did not have set lyrics. Pretty much every night Dave would sing something different with the chorus generally being the same every time. Go here and you will see that there are 70 different "versions" of Grey Street* out there. I should also mention that DMB not only allows but encourages taping of their live shows** so almost every one of those versions can be listened to. One of these versions is from 7.12.00 and I have had a copy of it for several years now and love it more than I love puppies. But so I was trolling through Youtube and saw this:
Dave Matthews Band - Grey Street (Extended) 7/12/00
Naturally I clicked on it and was overjoyed to actually get to see the band perform this song I have loved for so long. Some amazing things about the song I did not know before watching this video:
So...apart from me wanting to share lots of tiny little details with all of you...why am I sharing all of these tiny little details with you?
Because I love music. I love it. I want people to love music as much as I do. And I think to love something you have to really know that something as well as possible. These are two very specific songs that I completely enjoyed in a pretty narrow sense (like most songs are enjoyed I think) but, because of all the tiny details and the new format I have a whole new way of viewing these songs.
So if you love something - do everything you can to view it from as many angles as possible.
_Todd
*You will also see that, yes, dmbalmanac.com is a real website that contains setlists from every single DMB live performance on record. The band has toured every summer since 1993 and has played over 2000 shows. On this website you can click on, say, 1993, then on 3.4.93 and see not only what songs were played, but how long each song lasted, how many times that song was played on whatever tour they were on, who played on the song, and any differences from the "normal" playing of the song (i.e. - different lyrics, different outro). If you ever thought I was "obsessed" with DMB you now have a correct sense of just how obsessed some fans can really be - because the almanac is completely run by fans and is in no way affiliated officially with the band.
**This was how they spread their music in the early days - they would go to a city in where they had never been, and they had no records released at all, and the crowd would sing along with Dave because they already knew the songs - all done with cassette tapes and generous people mailing them, giving them to their friends.
***You will note that the youtube description has the parenthetical (extended) in the title. This is because the band no longer plays the third verse and last big chorus. It is strictly a two verse with two chorus affair now.
For years I have been listening to Radiohead. I cannot write coherently about how good they are and how much I like them. They have been around since 1992/3ish but I only started listening to them in probably 2004/5. Amazingly enough the first song of theirs that I really connected with (other than thinking "Creep" was cool because of the guitar bit in the chorus - now I like Creep for wholly different reasons) was Planet Telex - which is the first song off of The Bends which was their second album. So I started with their second album and my listening history pretty much followed the correct chronological order (OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows) whilst skipping over completely Pablo Honey. I did not discover how good the songs off of Pablo Honey were until I bought Radiohead: The Astoria London Live. (GO BUY THIS) I have also gotten into certain B-side songs - as all true fans of bands should do - and one of them in particular has been a song I have been in absolute love with since I first heard it.
True Love Waits is one of those songs that I don't even remember how I came to have it on my computer. But somehow I got a file on my computer that was obviously a live pull of some sort and at the beginning Thom says: "This is a brand new song that nobody's heard before." Remember that I didn't start listening to RH 'til about 2004/5 and the song file had no time stamp or anything to indicate when or where it might have come from. And I wasn't all that bothered about it, the song is so good that it doesn't matter when/where it's from. But so I'm cruising along last week just scrounging on youtube for something (as with all youtube sessions whatever original video I had come their to watch was long forgotten and I was on some tangential torrent in youtubeland) and I came across this:
True Love Waits - 1st Time Ever!
So of course I clicked on it and the first thing I see is: Brussels - April 12th, 1995. And then Thom says "This is a brand new song that nobody's heard before." Cue goosebumps, jaw dropping, and that feeling near my stomach that I get when someone I care about says or does something incredibly thoughtful for me and I don't know how to emotionally handle it. I know that no one else will have this same reaction to this tiny little video but I needed to share with everyone how profoundly it affected me. The idea that the song was first performed when I was TEN, first performed when I was probably thinking about cute 5th grade girls and how awesome fade patterns are this song that would come to mean so much to me was first being played in a country thousands of miles away, and then someone filmed it (and in 1995 they probably had one of those big freaking vhs recorders) and then, TEN more years later when YouTube was invented: "Hey I've got this old VHS from ten years ago, I'll put it on YouTube"...I don't even know how to react to all of that.
Second thing - people that know me know that I enjoy the Dave Matthews Band. Most people think that I am obsessed with them and all I do is listen to Ants Marching or something. Which is completely not true now. I have completely diversified my musical interests and do not listen to nearly as much DMB as I used to - which means that I still do listen to them quite a bit. Half of a ton is still 1,000 pounds. But so I was wondering through YouTube again...wait, some back story needs to be told first. I'll be quick about it.
The Dave Matthews Band performs a song called "Grey Street". This is a song that was officially released on the 2002 LP Busted Stuff. But hardcore fans, like myself, had been listening to it for years already because they had been playing it live since 2000 (and Dave encourages taping/distributing of their live shows, see upcoming FN) and it was, shall we say, unofficially released on The Lillywhite Sessions LP (more backstory) that everyone had in 2001. This is a song that takes some explaining because it is an integral part of the band. When it was first played in the summer of 2000 it did not have set lyrics. Pretty much every night Dave would sing something different with the chorus generally being the same every time. Go here and you will see that there are 70 different "versions" of Grey Street* out there. I should also mention that DMB not only allows but encourages taping of their live shows** so almost every one of those versions can be listened to. One of these versions is from 7.12.00 and I have had a copy of it for several years now and love it more than I love puppies. But so I was trolling through Youtube and saw this:
Dave Matthews Band - Grey Street (Extended) 7/12/00
Naturally I clicked on it and was overjoyed to actually get to see the band perform this song I have loved for so long. Some amazing things about the song I did not know before watching this video:
- It was performed at Giants Stadium.
- Dave plays his six-string. Grey Street now is played with the 12-string and I always thought that it had always been that way.
- Dave breaks a string - when they start the third verse*** Dave is not playing because he is switching out his guitar. What is interesting is that when I first heard the song I did not think anything of this absence of sound because of all the versions I have heard of this song they always play more quietly during the third verse. I have no way of knowing if this accidental string breaking began this tradition - but I think that it is true. This is early on in the playing of Grey Street (the 14th time played) and the band has another song called "Hello Again" that Dave broke a string during and, because that song does not have the band playing the same harmony as Dave, the song needs the guitar they stopped the song and Carter did a drum solo until Dave could get it switched. They continued to put the drum solo in at the same spot when they played it later.
So...apart from me wanting to share lots of tiny little details with all of you...why am I sharing all of these tiny little details with you?
Because I love music. I love it. I want people to love music as much as I do. And I think to love something you have to really know that something as well as possible. These are two very specific songs that I completely enjoyed in a pretty narrow sense (like most songs are enjoyed I think) but, because of all the tiny details and the new format I have a whole new way of viewing these songs.
So if you love something - do everything you can to view it from as many angles as possible.
_Todd
*You will also see that, yes, dmbalmanac.com is a real website that contains setlists from every single DMB live performance on record. The band has toured every summer since 1993 and has played over 2000 shows. On this website you can click on, say, 1993, then on 3.4.93 and see not only what songs were played, but how long each song lasted, how many times that song was played on whatever tour they were on, who played on the song, and any differences from the "normal" playing of the song (i.e. - different lyrics, different outro). If you ever thought I was "obsessed" with DMB you now have a correct sense of just how obsessed some fans can really be - because the almanac is completely run by fans and is in no way affiliated officially with the band.
**This was how they spread their music in the early days - they would go to a city in where they had never been, and they had no records released at all, and the crowd would sing along with Dave because they already knew the songs - all done with cassette tapes and generous people mailing them, giving them to their friends.
***You will note that the youtube description has the parenthetical (extended) in the title. This is because the band no longer plays the third verse and last big chorus. It is strictly a two verse with two chorus affair now.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
OK I get it
It's been way too long I know - and I'm kind of ashamed of it. September? What's the point Todd.
But I've decided that I need a creative outlet and this already exists as a space so I'm going to start exploring it more.
The first thing I need to talk about is this:
Heat
A few things - Glenn Frey is pretty awesome - I have always enjoyed The Eagles (even got to see them live once). I think they have a songwriting style that just plain works and makes me feel good And they are an extremely popular band: everyone knows the song "Hotel California" and one of their greatest hits albums has sold almost 30 millions copies in the USA. The only other album to sell that many copies in the US? Thriller.*
But so Glenn Frey is one of the lead singers and songwriters of The Eagles but in 1985 The Eagles were split up (presumably forever, which is why their reunion tour was called "Hell Freezes Over:). So Frey was on his own, trying to have a solo career and in 1985 "The Heat is On" got released as part of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack and it, like the movie, was a very popular song - it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. It is also part of my childhood - we had this VHS tape of videos that, for some reason my parents recorded off of MTV and VH1** and this video was one of the videos. We used to play this VHS when we would like clean the house or have chores to do. My memory of this video is certainly reinforced by the fact that I can watch it on YouTube now but I know I remember listening to it.
Watching it now it stuns me in several ways. One, Glenn Frey has stubble, which seems like an awesome 80s thing to have - didn't Don Johnson invent stubble on Miami Vice?*** But I am not used to seeing Glenn Frey with facial hair (I only know him from my Eagles DVD and Jerry Maguire) and I like it here. I also like the extreme closeups and him singing with his eyes closed...then he pounds the mic and then spikes the lens. Two, the sax player always intrigued me, they seem to really like her in the video - and of the course the song is definitely driven in part by the sax. But I never understood why, at the end of the video, she kind of sidles up to Glenn Frey and sings with him - she looks so unconcerned and uncommitted to the song, especially compared to the eyes closed, mic pounding Frey. Thanks to Wikipedia I know the answer to this: apparently the saxophonist in the video is one Beverly Dahlke-Smith and she did not play on the actual recording of the song. She only plays fake sax in a music video - I wouldn't care either. Although I would dance like her.
The more I watch this video the more I realize how brilliant it is. It opens with a man sitting at a monitor with huge rolls of film that are apparently beginning to play to this bespectacled gentleman. I guess we are supposed to think he is the editor of the movie or something - this becomes clearer when they open the blinds onto the sax player and then they start playing clips from the movie. Literally we are getting a look into the mind of the editor (into the window of his mind if you extend the metaphor) as he is looking at the finished cut of the movie. And the rhythm and the lyrics of the song are what motivated him in his editing of the film. Again if you actually listen to the lyrics this becomes clear: "Tell me can you feel it?" "Inside your head, on every beat" "Caught up in the action". The editor (or whoever this guy is) is asking and answering these questions as he is watching the movie and singing the lyrics to himself (they show several shots of this). I should also mention that Glenn Frey didn't write this song, it was written by the same guys who wrote the whole soundtrack for the movie. All of these things make a brilliant concept and a perfect execution of that concept.
Which is certainly something to strive for in life - concept/execution of concept. We all want to accomplish something with our lives (at least I hope we do) and I know I struggle sometimes with even the most basic tenets of this idea - i.e. what do I want to accomplish? I do better with the day to day stuff: I'm going to make rice for dinner, I'm going to watch Hot Fuzz, etc. are all tiny examples of concept/execution of concept. Execution of concept is obviously more important than just the concept; think about abstract artists that put out this art that is just brightly colored squares and lines - it looks so simple and easy and like anybody could have done it - but they (anybody) didn't do it, the artist did. The concept is not really all that complex, but the execution is. (Trying painting a perfect square sometime.) I guess that is a good way to end this post - with the hope of brilliant concepts and perfect execution.
More soon,
_Todd
*I know that album sales probably don't mean as much as they used to but they used to be everything - this album was released on February 17, 1976 (and only covers 1971-5) and back then buying the album was the only way to hear the music - unlike now when people just get it from somewhere/one. If you were a fan, you bought the album. And it hit platinum in 1976 (first album to receive this award because it was the first year it, the award, existed) and then hit 29x platinum on January 30, 2006 (Which means, by the way, that it sold, on average, 2,648 copies A DAY FOR THIRTY YEARS). So they have been popular for a long time.
**I just now realized that I have no idea why my parents recorded these videos - I don't think they really liked this type of music, they certainly don't listen to 80s music now. I have to ask them about this because it is suddenly baffling - this tape is two hours long and we have another about half full of random music videos - maybe my mom had them to work out too or something? I have sudden images in my head of my mom wearing 80s workout clothes...moving on. Also - remember when MTV and VH1 actually played videos?
***This makes more sense when you think about how Glenn Frey also recorded "You Belong to the City" which was his only other solo hit and was on the Miami Vice soundtrack.
But I've decided that I need a creative outlet and this already exists as a space so I'm going to start exploring it more.
The first thing I need to talk about is this:
Heat
A few things - Glenn Frey is pretty awesome - I have always enjoyed The Eagles (even got to see them live once). I think they have a songwriting style that just plain works and makes me feel good And they are an extremely popular band: everyone knows the song "Hotel California" and one of their greatest hits albums has sold almost 30 millions copies in the USA. The only other album to sell that many copies in the US? Thriller.*
But so Glenn Frey is one of the lead singers and songwriters of The Eagles but in 1985 The Eagles were split up (presumably forever, which is why their reunion tour was called "Hell Freezes Over:). So Frey was on his own, trying to have a solo career and in 1985 "The Heat is On" got released as part of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack and it, like the movie, was a very popular song - it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. It is also part of my childhood - we had this VHS tape of videos that, for some reason my parents recorded off of MTV and VH1** and this video was one of the videos. We used to play this VHS when we would like clean the house or have chores to do. My memory of this video is certainly reinforced by the fact that I can watch it on YouTube now but I know I remember listening to it.
Watching it now it stuns me in several ways. One, Glenn Frey has stubble, which seems like an awesome 80s thing to have - didn't Don Johnson invent stubble on Miami Vice?*** But I am not used to seeing Glenn Frey with facial hair (I only know him from my Eagles DVD and Jerry Maguire) and I like it here. I also like the extreme closeups and him singing with his eyes closed...then he pounds the mic and then spikes the lens. Two, the sax player always intrigued me, they seem to really like her in the video - and of the course the song is definitely driven in part by the sax. But I never understood why, at the end of the video, she kind of sidles up to Glenn Frey and sings with him - she looks so unconcerned and uncommitted to the song, especially compared to the eyes closed, mic pounding Frey. Thanks to Wikipedia I know the answer to this: apparently the saxophonist in the video is one Beverly Dahlke-Smith and she did not play on the actual recording of the song. She only plays fake sax in a music video - I wouldn't care either. Although I would dance like her.
The more I watch this video the more I realize how brilliant it is. It opens with a man sitting at a monitor with huge rolls of film that are apparently beginning to play to this bespectacled gentleman. I guess we are supposed to think he is the editor of the movie or something - this becomes clearer when they open the blinds onto the sax player and then they start playing clips from the movie. Literally we are getting a look into the mind of the editor (into the window of his mind if you extend the metaphor) as he is looking at the finished cut of the movie. And the rhythm and the lyrics of the song are what motivated him in his editing of the film. Again if you actually listen to the lyrics this becomes clear: "Tell me can you feel it?" "Inside your head, on every beat" "Caught up in the action". The editor (or whoever this guy is) is asking and answering these questions as he is watching the movie and singing the lyrics to himself (they show several shots of this). I should also mention that Glenn Frey didn't write this song, it was written by the same guys who wrote the whole soundtrack for the movie. All of these things make a brilliant concept and a perfect execution of that concept.
Which is certainly something to strive for in life - concept/execution of concept. We all want to accomplish something with our lives (at least I hope we do) and I know I struggle sometimes with even the most basic tenets of this idea - i.e. what do I want to accomplish? I do better with the day to day stuff: I'm going to make rice for dinner, I'm going to watch Hot Fuzz, etc. are all tiny examples of concept/execution of concept. Execution of concept is obviously more important than just the concept; think about abstract artists that put out this art that is just brightly colored squares and lines - it looks so simple and easy and like anybody could have done it - but they (anybody) didn't do it, the artist did. The concept is not really all that complex, but the execution is. (Trying painting a perfect square sometime.) I guess that is a good way to end this post - with the hope of brilliant concepts and perfect execution.
More soon,
_Todd
*I know that album sales probably don't mean as much as they used to but they used to be everything - this album was released on February 17, 1976 (and only covers 1971-5) and back then buying the album was the only way to hear the music - unlike now when people just get it from somewhere/one. If you were a fan, you bought the album. And it hit platinum in 1976 (first album to receive this award because it was the first year it, the award, existed) and then hit 29x platinum on January 30, 2006 (Which means, by the way, that it sold, on average, 2,648 copies A DAY FOR THIRTY YEARS). So they have been popular for a long time.
**I just now realized that I have no idea why my parents recorded these videos - I don't think they really liked this type of music, they certainly don't listen to 80s music now. I have to ask them about this because it is suddenly baffling - this tape is two hours long and we have another about half full of random music videos - maybe my mom had them to work out too or something? I have sudden images in my head of my mom wearing 80s workout clothes...moving on. Also - remember when MTV and VH1 actually played videos?
***This makes more sense when you think about how Glenn Frey also recorded "You Belong to the City" which was his only other solo hit and was on the Miami Vice soundtrack.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Nerves
So in class we have been talking about how in three months we will be student teachers and, unlike the last three years of prep work, actually be expected to teach. And most of the people in class seem to be pretty nervous about this.
And on some level I can understand their level of nervousness. It is a big difference between being in a classroom with children with the teacher and four of your classmates and being in the classroom with just you and the children. So we have been talking a lot about how we feel (which is a common theme in Elementary Education) about the upcoming semester and what is making us nervous.
And all this talk about being nervous has brought to mind two different quotes from two different periods of my life. The first comes from high school.
As the people reading this blog probably already know I ran cross country in high school and I remember one time we got onto the subject of being nervous about racing. And, it had to be Coach who said this first, we seemed to agree that being nervous was an acceptable thing because we all knew that we had a chance to run really well - we were not nervous about the pain or the struggle of running, we were nervous about letting our team/coach/selves down because we did not perform up to the expectations that our team/coach/selves had.
And again this seems like a perfectly normal and OK thing to experience, it makes sense because we wanted to run well and to win. But then I read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and this line only stood out to me on my third read through* of the final book:
"Nerves are for people who haven't made up their minds"
And it strikes me, especially in the context of beginning your career, that this quote actually does apply. All of us in my cluster have made up their minds; they want to be a teacher. And now they are finally getting a chance to do that.
It could easily be argued that my first quote also directly applies because, as teachers it is safe to assume that we do not want to let down our students/administration/selves. But that argument only works if you want it to - it only works if you let it. I would rather not even consider it and just focus on being the absolute best teacher that I can be - and in three months we will see how it goes.
*proving again that re-reading books is a very valuable thing to do.
And on some level I can understand their level of nervousness. It is a big difference between being in a classroom with children with the teacher and four of your classmates and being in the classroom with just you and the children. So we have been talking a lot about how we feel (which is a common theme in Elementary Education) about the upcoming semester and what is making us nervous.
And all this talk about being nervous has brought to mind two different quotes from two different periods of my life. The first comes from high school.
As the people reading this blog probably already know I ran cross country in high school and I remember one time we got onto the subject of being nervous about racing. And, it had to be Coach who said this first, we seemed to agree that being nervous was an acceptable thing because we all knew that we had a chance to run really well - we were not nervous about the pain or the struggle of running, we were nervous about letting our team/coach/selves down because we did not perform up to the expectations that our team/coach/selves had.
And again this seems like a perfectly normal and OK thing to experience, it makes sense because we wanted to run well and to win. But then I read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and this line only stood out to me on my third read through* of the final book:
"Nerves are for people who haven't made up their minds"
And it strikes me, especially in the context of beginning your career, that this quote actually does apply. All of us in my cluster have made up their minds; they want to be a teacher. And now they are finally getting a chance to do that.
It could easily be argued that my first quote also directly applies because, as teachers it is safe to assume that we do not want to let down our students/administration/selves. But that argument only works if you want it to - it only works if you let it. I would rather not even consider it and just focus on being the absolute best teacher that I can be - and in three months we will see how it goes.
*proving again that re-reading books is a very valuable thing to do.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Top 15 Movies 2000-2009
1) 1.)Up - just way too good, funny, sad, visually stunning, and has characters that somehow seems so familiar without being cliche. The best example of this from the movie is the scene at the end where the old man gives the kid the "Ellie" patch - the speech he gives is so heartfelt and so pure and thought that that scene had to be cliche but instead it became one of my favorite scenes....sigh.
2) 2.) City of God - what movies should be like; funny, well written and directed, emotional, and has a complete sense of purpose about it and is not afraid of doing whatever it has to to fulfill that purpose (like the little side stories about the apartment, history of the gang at the beginning) and is structured brilliantly by starting near the end and going back to the beginning - just awesome.
3) 3.) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Again what movies should be like - it also knows its purpose and does whatever it wants to in order to accomplish that purpose - what I am really saying when I say that is the story is excellent and strong and doesn't wander (well...it DOES wander but it feels like it is supposed to wander - which is exactly the point)
4) 4.) Slumdog Millionaire - I just love how I felt after watching this movie...coming from a background in Cross Country I have always been a bit of an idealist and really truly believed that anything is possible - this movie celebrates that idea as purely as any movie I can remember seeing.
5) 5.) Wall-E - It is about a robot. Falling in love with another robot. And I cared so much. And it was so beautiful, and lonely and cute and daring.
6) 6.) Shaun of the Dead - The running theme of this list is "what movies should be like" and this movie fits the bill completely - incredibly funny, fantastically acted, wonderfully directed and just so well thought out...they really care about making a good movie and it shows.
7) 7.) Finding Nemo - I remember the first time I saw this was at Purdue in a theatre that was packed full of college students and I remember at one point in the movie I looked around and EVERYONE in the theatre was absolutely glued to the screen...you really CARE about this little clown fish and you want him to find his son.
8) 8.) Hot Fuzz - The first time I watched this the first 2/3rds of the movie I remember barely laughing or moving...they set up the mystery so well and I couldn't figure out what they could possibly be doing - it was so different than Shaun and the characters were so different and...then they get to the end with all the shooting and I was laughing, HARD the whole time. Just a brilliant film.
9) 9.) LOTR Trilogy - ridiculous. So massive and epic and glorious. It is this generations Star Wars.
10) 10.) V for Vendetta - Just eminently rewatchable and Hugo Weaving is brilliant in it. What takes this movie from really really good to "on this list" is his acting and the scene with the dominoes...just amazing. Plus there are so many ridiculous good quotes.
11) 11.) Requiem For a Dream - probably the most emotionally draining movie I've ever seen. Similar to Saving Private Ryan in the emotional impact but different because I'm not sure if I was sad after Requiem...I didn't really know how I felt after seeing it.
12) 12.) Oceans Trilogy - Way too much fun.
13) 13.) Good Night and Good Luck - Love it, love the actors, love the writing, love the directing - again a movie made by someone who cares about making a great movie.
14) 14.) The Incredibles - See any of the other Pixar descriptions. But again the emotional impact of the movie is what sets this (and other Pixar movies) apart - the scene at the end where they are about to fight the robot and Mr. Incredible says that he has to do it alone and him and his wife argue and he talks about how he isn't strong enough...just amazing stuff.
15) 15.)Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - Sam Rockwell is a genius probably. And George Clooney, again, had such a clear idea of what he wanted in this movie and simply goes for it with all guns blazing.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I'm praying for some way to show them I'm not what they see
(I have just realized that I cannot write in this thing unless I am listening to music. My thoughts simply don't go anywhere without music. I wonder if I could get that diagnosed and be allowed to listen to music while taking tests. How fucking sweet would that be?)
The Stone - DMB
The title may be true. I like classes and meeting people because it gives me a chance to cultivate a personality. In my classes I'm either the guy who only talks to the teacher or the hilarious, sexy, possible genius who raises the intellectual level of the conversation whenever he talks. It is this second personality that is my favorite - mainly because it is easy.
"Wow," you're probably saying. "What a fucking ass - how can you even get in the room with such a big head?"
But lets analyze how this personality comes about.
First, the sexiness - I can't help this. It is an unstoppable force that has yet to meet an impenetrable wall.
Second, I think being funny is related to saying the craziest shit you can. I think the funniest humor is advanced* humor - it is not what you expect but it is also not what you don't expect. It is neither outside or inside the box. This is why my writing hero is Douglas Adams whose sidekick is Dave Barry whose nemesis is Steven King whose sidekick is Tom Clancy. Actually they are just my heroes (and nemeses) in general.
Third, because of the above I'm not really sure how it is I feel about most things. I am constantly shifting my perspective and my "deep thoughts" are just quick reactions to what I hear - what that means is that I am good at sounding good. But what do I really believe? OK, here is my list of firm beliefs:
(they are numbered but the numbers have no bearing on their relative importance)
1.) Beer is fucking awesome.
2.) Radiohead is fucking awesome.
3.) The internet is for porn.
4.) My family is fucking awesome.
5.) Before These Crowded Streets, In Rainbows and Dark Side of the Moon are the best albums of all time.
That's about it. Everything else exists in a state of constant flux. What this means is that I am consistently inconsistent. Which also means that it is impossible for me to win arguments (unless those arguments pertain to any of the above list). Ask my girlfriend - I mean OK she is a doctoral candidate but she always kicks my ass. I think it is because she reads a lot more than I do. And she's pretty so I get distracted.
(Like right now, I can't end this blog entry because she (even though she isn't here and, in fact, is in a different state) is distracting me. How do women do this?)
Another line from The Stone: "I've this creeping suspicion that things here are not what they seem."
I think that's a good way to end it.
_Todd
*For a more fulsome definition of advanced read IV by Chuck Klosterman.
6.) I love my girlfriend.
The Stone - DMB
The title may be true. I like classes and meeting people because it gives me a chance to cultivate a personality. In my classes I'm either the guy who only talks to the teacher or the hilarious, sexy, possible genius who raises the intellectual level of the conversation whenever he talks. It is this second personality that is my favorite - mainly because it is easy.
"Wow," you're probably saying. "What a fucking ass - how can you even get in the room with such a big head?"
But lets analyze how this personality comes about.
First, the sexiness - I can't help this. It is an unstoppable force that has yet to meet an impenetrable wall.
Second, I think being funny is related to saying the craziest shit you can. I think the funniest humor is advanced* humor - it is not what you expect but it is also not what you don't expect. It is neither outside or inside the box. This is why my writing hero is Douglas Adams whose sidekick is Dave Barry whose nemesis is Steven King whose sidekick is Tom Clancy. Actually they are just my heroes (and nemeses) in general.
Third, because of the above I'm not really sure how it is I feel about most things. I am constantly shifting my perspective and my "deep thoughts" are just quick reactions to what I hear - what that means is that I am good at sounding good. But what do I really believe? OK, here is my list of firm beliefs:
(they are numbered but the numbers have no bearing on their relative importance)
1.) Beer is fucking awesome.
2.) Radiohead is fucking awesome.
3.) The internet is for porn.
4.) My family is fucking awesome.
5.) Before These Crowded Streets, In Rainbows and Dark Side of the Moon are the best albums of all time.
That's about it. Everything else exists in a state of constant flux. What this means is that I am consistently inconsistent. Which also means that it is impossible for me to win arguments (unless those arguments pertain to any of the above list). Ask my girlfriend - I mean OK she is a doctoral candidate but she always kicks my ass. I think it is because she reads a lot more than I do. And she's pretty so I get distracted.
(Like right now, I can't end this blog entry because she (even though she isn't here and, in fact, is in a different state) is distracting me. How do women do this?)
Another line from The Stone: "I've this creeping suspicion that things here are not what they seem."
I think that's a good way to end it.
_Todd
*For a more fulsome definition of advanced read IV by Chuck Klosterman.
6.) I love my girlfriend.
Monday, March 24, 2008
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