| This is neat. |
[19 Jun 2009|09:38pm] |
Fat Charlie Nancy from Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys is someone I always felt I embodied. Especially going from job to job to make ends meet, being in fear of putting myself out there, and feeling like the world is in on a joke, and that joke is Fat Charlie. Though I don't have a twin brother who is the most interesting man in the world, or a dad who is an African trickster god, I can relate to many of Fat Charlie's stresses and fears. I most definitely usually feel like the least cool person in the room. I'm not invited to parties. I'd like to be able to do amazing things in front of people, but when I do, I flub in the most terribly embarrassing way and I wish I was never born.
Don't worry though, I'm working on it.
|
|
| On Folk, or really, what I've been listening to |
[12 Mar 2009|05:20pm] |
With Lisa Hannigan spreading like wildfire across the Internet thanks to Stephen Colbert, the other day I found myself saying in a post about her on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lord_whimsy's LJ that I'm "nowhere near where she's coming from, musically." Which is not to say that I hate the folk genre, but it dawned on me that it's not really my thing at all.
I've dabbled in folk in the past, having listened to the collections of songs that were previously (and in some cases, only) available on 78s but now reissued on CD and modern LP, the catalog of Vashti Bunyan, the folkish acts of Drag City, Devendra Banhart, and the guitarists who wave the banner of John Fahey's American Primitivism. Most of it though, hasn't stuck with me. Why? It could be that most of it is pretty redundant unto itself; there's only so much you can do with the same playbook as an old dude that Alan Lomax recorded playing on a back porch in Appalachia, or whoever else you're borrowing the playbook from. It could also be that it doesn't fit my personality; it all sounds nice and most of the players are good musicians and/or singers, but it doesn't rock my boat.
( What does, then? )
|
|
| Now Hear This! |
[13 Feb 2009|05:43pm] |
A fucking excellent Looney Tunes cartoon from 1962/1963... My friend pamlivesinabox was telling me about this, and apparently it was the first "Looney Tune," obviously way before Bugs Bunny and co. arrived. From the "modern" intro to its use of sound poetry/musique concrète in lieu of dialogue, not to mention the way Philip DeGuard utilizes that entire white background, I am totally won over. Enjoy...
|
|
| On "Important Things with Demetri Martin" |
[12 Feb 2009|02:11pm] |
So last night was the premiere of Important Things with Demetri Martin, which I've been highly anticipating. Martin is my favorite young comedian; he's like the anti-thesis of Dane Cook with his quiet, geeky jokes and dorky observations, as opposed to Cook cranking it to eleven like a hard rock concert.
Important Things on paper sounds pretty awesome to a fan of Martin like me. Each episode is devoted to one "important thing," something that is mundane that only a geek/dork/nerd like myself and Martin would only notice. Martin then explores the comedic aspects of this important thing through a series of one-liners, skits, and animations. In a weird way, it's kind of like Sesame Street is, with its own little "commercials" that are devoted to the important thing of the episode.
Last night though, I felt like Martin and the writing crew haven't worked out all the kinks. There wasn't any smooth transitions from the jokes to the skits, resulting in a disjointed delivery of content. I think this undermined the material, and in an ironic fashion, showed just how important the "important thing" of last night, timing, was. I also felt there was a whiff of Martin trying too hard with the skits, which is a shame as with his stand-up performances he comes off as a natural.
That said, last night I searched Youtube for a couple of Martin skits to show to a friend, and I found a special that was aired on BBC Four, If I. I've never seen or heard of it before, and I was rewarded with an incredible performance. Essentially, Martin takes a humorous look back on his life from when he was in elementary school and reading puzzle books, all the way up to what lead him to get into comedy. Despite the fact that it combines aspects of lecture, motivational speech, and his stand-up, I was very easily able to watch the whole special with my face glued to the monitor. It's smooth, wonderfully idiosyncratic, inspiring, hilarious, and educational. I hope that Martin and his team look to this for where to go with "Important Things."
( watch )
|
|
| oh hai the sun's out yay! |
[01 Feb 2009|03:45pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
C.C.C.C. - Early Works |
] |
Books I Read in January 2009:
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell - A
More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman - B+
Duchamp: A Biography by Calvin Tomkins - A
The World of Marcel Duchamp by Calvin Tomkins - A+
Duchamp & Co. by Pierre Cabanne - A
Marcel Duchamp by Dawn Ades, Neil Cox, David Hopkins - C+
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - A
|
|
| Think back, way back for me |
[16 Nov 2008|11:53am] |
|
Between 2002 and 2004, before I stopped caring about "dance" music and what was also passing as "electronic music," I watched that show AMP on MTV2. They used to have these little commercials that acted as station IDs to remind you that you were watching MTV2 - but they were really bizarre. They all featured this guy with a bicycle, various colored light-bulbs and I believe there was also a keyboard in his set-up. I'm trying to remember who that guy was. I know I googled him a million years ago, but now when I type in "MTV2, bike, commercial" I get nothing that helps me. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Help me!
|
|
| lol centaur |
[14 Oct 2008|04:22pm] |
I'm not sure how I haven't posted about this ad before. It's an ad for Old Spice's Double Impact Shampoo and Bodywash. I find it hilarious in an incredibly surreal fashion. You have a centaur never acknowledging the fact that he is a centaur; instead he cleverly dodges the issue and pitches the product. Then, the ad comes to its conclusion with an attractive woman suggesting that she's in this zoophiliac/furry relationship with him. It's a weird, wacky ad that has the right amount of surrealism and psycho-sexuality that makes me laugh. It also reminds me of The Centaur by Buck 65.
|
|
| Purple! Lurple? |
[12 Oct 2008|11:52pm] |
Went out with my mom to JC Penney where they were having a mad sale. I think this will work as long as I get the right tie for it. What do the rest of you folk think?
|
|
| Confession |
[10 Oct 2008|12:25am] |
I want to grow up to be Dustin Hoffman when I'm in my golden years. Since the 2000s have come around, Hoffman has played some fantastic characters in some really good films, and those kinds of characteristics are things I hope to have when I myself go salt n' pepper.
As Bernard, existential detective in I Heart Huckabees
As Mr. Magorium in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
As Professor Hilbert in Stranger Than Fiction
As Shifu in Kung Fu Panda
I rest my case. In the meantime, I think I'll just do my best to be the Doctor (as played by Dave Tennant);
|
|
| New Slavoj, any good? |
[23 Sep 2008|03:58pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
TV On The Radio - Dear Science, |
] |
uberdionysus and others, I keep seeing Slavoj Zizek's In Defense of Lost Causes at my library and it keeps piquing my interest. Would I be able to read and understand what Slavoj goes on about in this book despite not being a philosophy major or a psych major? Cheers!
|
|
| I can't stop listening to the Magnetic Fields, now |
[20 Jul 2008|11:07am] |
Not too long ago, I was at my library when I noticed in the CD racks that they had a copy of Distortion by Stephin Merritt's band, The Magnetic Fields. To be honest, I never gave the Magnetic Fields a serious listen, though I certainly knew of them because of the press given to them because of 69 Love Songs and i. Indeed, I never heard a track by them until I was listening to WFMU earlier this year and the DJ played "Three-Way." I was intrigued, but forgot about the album until I saw it at the library.
It's really clear right from the get-go that Merritt and co. used The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy as a springboard for this recording. The giant reverberations and the searing feedback of guitars and electric organs give that away all too easily. However, what makes this album work so well is that instead of being incredibly bare bones with the instrumentation like the Chain were, Merritt has created these amazing soundscapes that, despite it all being drenched in harsh white noise, include strings, piano and according to the linear notes, an accordion. The piano sounds in particular are amazing - it makes me think of rain drops, but not in a stupid New Age ambient way. Rather, they compliment the depressive nature of most of the songs. In fact, the sounds for all the instruments are awesome. They give the nature of the songs that nice, extra gravitas.
I also like Merritt's voice a lot - mostly because I can sing along to it and not be ridiculously out of tune, being of low bass myself. It's oddly reassuring and a testament that you don't need falsetto, or be trained, to make a song work. The other vocalists are great too, don't get me wrong, but the soothing deepness of Merritt hits home for me.
So yeah, this is a solid album. I'm now in the process of acquiring more Magnetic Fields from the library. Should be good times.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
