Yeah, it's been awhile since I fired off a current favorites. But the NY Times said my boy Castro was looking frisky in a recent appearance with Hugo Chavez, so I figured I'd commemorate the occasion with a Current Favorites.
Music
Deerhoof Friend Opportunity
Being a bit obsessive about music, I monitor the “Top 25 Most Played Songs” feature on iTunes more than I probably should. That being said, this past week something unprecedented happened. Deerhoof’s “Galaxist” dropped like a bomb shot all the way up to number two. I played the thing 21 times in the past week. There’s something to be said for a song that can do that. The last one to ever reach that level of play was Spoon’s “Sister Jack”. There’s something about certain songs that just lend themselves to being played over and over. That something is being catchy and short. And if I were to use two words to describe Deerhoof’s Friend Opportunity it would be catchy and short.
Friend Opportunity is catchy in that quirky way to be sure, but it doesn’t take much effort to fall into its trap. Sure its unconventional, but the thing is loaded with hooks. It abounds with little vocal quirks that you keep humming to yourself no matter how absurd they sound. (Case in point, I was singing the part of the silly “Kidz Are So Small” that goes “If I were man and you a dog I’d throw a stick for you” and my special lady friend said “Oh well thank you!”. These are moments that will likely happen to you when you start humming things from Friend Opportunity. And hum you shall).
Friend Opportunity also lingers for only a short period. Clocking in at just over 36 minutes and keeping the majority of its songs around the 3 minute mark, Friend Opportunity makes the most of your attention span. Interestingly, the least interesting track, “Look Away”, closes out the album for an unwelcome 11:45 seconds. If you don’t pay attention, it’s like it’s not even there.
Is Friend Opportunity going to reorient everything you ever believed about music? No, but it will probably give you about 7 songs that will stay in your head and make you smile. 8/10
Suggested Tracks: “Galaxist”, “+81”, “Matchbook Seeks Maniac”
Movies
The last two movies I watched seem to be overwhelmingly pretentious...but, well, let's face it, I'm a little pretentious. Just ask my special lady friend...
Me, You, and Everyone We Know - A movie that's weirdness might make someone think it's more special than it really is. It has things that seem like they should be shocking, but end up feeling kind of innocent. Overall, it's a feel good movie disguised as something arty. Not that this is a bad thing. It ends up being quite satisfying overall, and it's quirkiness gives it a little extra charm you couldn't find in a typical romantic comedy. 7/10
The Motorcycle Diaries - Typically I feel pretty ambivilent towards biopics. No matter how well made they are, I always feel a bit dissatisfied afterwards. I usually like a little more of a story to something besides, "this is a great person's life". In addition, there's the annoyance factor of knowing something about their lives and seeing it happen on screen that always makes it seem a little forced. I once watched that Elvis biopic on CBS a couple years ago, and I couldn't get over how forced the whole recording session scene felt. It was if the director was trying to say "THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! WATCH!!!" This always seems to happen during these types of things, I suppose, because some of those moments just don't seem real as they've been turned into legend. It seems that a filmmaker has to be ridiculously subtle in those sorts of instances...which, to be honest, not many filmakers have the ability to do.
Somehow, someway, The Motorcycle Diaries is able to keep these moments to a minimum. It makes a movie that's less about Che Guevera than a movie that happens to have Che Guevera in it. Perhaps it benefits from takling only a portion of his life (especially a portion that is fairly unfamiliar to American audiences). Perhaps I was unable to pick up on cringe-worthy subtleties since I don't speak Spanish that I pick up on in English language movies. But regardless, there was only one really forced exchange. Where young Che 'learns' of Communism from a mention by some indiginous people. Um, forced maybe? But compare that to say, Ray, which made me cringe every fifteen minutes or so...
8/10
That's all for now...I quit reading books...
Music
Deerhoof Friend Opportunity
Being a bit obsessive about music, I monitor the “Top 25 Most Played Songs” feature on iTunes more than I probably should. That being said, this past week something unprecedented happened. Deerhoof’s “Galaxist” dropped like a bomb shot all the way up to number two. I played the thing 21 times in the past week. There’s something to be said for a song that can do that. The last one to ever reach that level of play was Spoon’s “Sister Jack”. There’s something about certain songs that just lend themselves to being played over and over. That something is being catchy and short. And if I were to use two words to describe Deerhoof’s Friend Opportunity it would be catchy and short.
Friend Opportunity is catchy in that quirky way to be sure, but it doesn’t take much effort to fall into its trap. Sure its unconventional, but the thing is loaded with hooks. It abounds with little vocal quirks that you keep humming to yourself no matter how absurd they sound. (Case in point, I was singing the part of the silly “Kidz Are So Small” that goes “If I were man and you a dog I’d throw a stick for you” and my special lady friend said “Oh well thank you!”. These are moments that will likely happen to you when you start humming things from Friend Opportunity. And hum you shall).
Friend Opportunity also lingers for only a short period. Clocking in at just over 36 minutes and keeping the majority of its songs around the 3 minute mark, Friend Opportunity makes the most of your attention span. Interestingly, the least interesting track, “Look Away”, closes out the album for an unwelcome 11:45 seconds. If you don’t pay attention, it’s like it’s not even there.
Is Friend Opportunity going to reorient everything you ever believed about music? No, but it will probably give you about 7 songs that will stay in your head and make you smile. 8/10
Suggested Tracks: “Galaxist”, “+81”, “Matchbook Seeks Maniac”
Movies
The last two movies I watched seem to be overwhelmingly pretentious...but, well, let's face it, I'm a little pretentious. Just ask my special lady friend...
Me, You, and Everyone We Know - A movie that's weirdness might make someone think it's more special than it really is. It has things that seem like they should be shocking, but end up feeling kind of innocent. Overall, it's a feel good movie disguised as something arty. Not that this is a bad thing. It ends up being quite satisfying overall, and it's quirkiness gives it a little extra charm you couldn't find in a typical romantic comedy. 7/10
The Motorcycle Diaries - Typically I feel pretty ambivilent towards biopics. No matter how well made they are, I always feel a bit dissatisfied afterwards. I usually like a little more of a story to something besides, "this is a great person's life". In addition, there's the annoyance factor of knowing something about their lives and seeing it happen on screen that always makes it seem a little forced. I once watched that Elvis biopic on CBS a couple years ago, and I couldn't get over how forced the whole recording session scene felt. It was if the director was trying to say "THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! WATCH!!!" This always seems to happen during these types of things, I suppose, because some of those moments just don't seem real as they've been turned into legend. It seems that a filmmaker has to be ridiculously subtle in those sorts of instances...which, to be honest, not many filmakers have the ability to do.
Somehow, someway, The Motorcycle Diaries is able to keep these moments to a minimum. It makes a movie that's less about Che Guevera than a movie that happens to have Che Guevera in it. Perhaps it benefits from takling only a portion of his life (especially a portion that is fairly unfamiliar to American audiences). Perhaps I was unable to pick up on cringe-worthy subtleties since I don't speak Spanish that I pick up on in English language movies. But regardless, there was only one really forced exchange. Where young Che 'learns' of Communism from a mention by some indiginous people. Um, forced maybe? But compare that to say, Ray, which made me cringe every fifteen minutes or so...
8/10
That's all for now...I quit reading books...
