1. I can't figure out why, but some people just can't get into
Junior Boys. Personally,
Begone Dull Care is probably my favorite album so far this year, and
Begone tracks "Hazel" and "Bits and Pieces" are two of the best tracks I've heard in 2009.
2. Sagarmatha is the record that
The Appleseed Cast should have made about 6 or 7 years ago. Not that I didn't enjoy
Two Conversations and
Peregrine, but it's been a long wait for an actual follow-up to
Low Level Owl. "The Summer Before" and "As the Little Things Go" are serious standouts.
3. The 5th season of
Lost is still rocking. The "meeting younger versions of older characters" thing seems a little over-done at times, but it's highly likely that the writers are using it to set up some good things down the road. Speaking of the writers, they've been on their A game since it was announced last year that the show would be ending after the 6th season.
4. From what I've seen, the first month of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has gone ok. I just keep thinking how awkward Late Night was when Conan first started out. It'll be interesting to see how things go as Jimmy keeps getting more comfortable, and his old friends stop showing up to do him favors.
5. I thought Watchmen was a pretty decent movie, and parts of it were really well done, but I've got a few complaints as well. The biggest problem I had with it was the length. 3 hours is just an excruciating amount of time to try and sit in one spot. Not that they should have necessarily cut a bunch of stuff out, it's complicated enough to understand as it is. However, it might've been more digestible in two parts, and without the 5 minute, completely unnecessary sex scene. Also, the amount of blue genitalia was overwhelming. I know there's a point behind it, but it could've been done a bit more subtly; as is it's pretty distracting.
6. The Soup rules. Long live Joel McHale.
7. Living Thing,
Peter Bjorn and John's newest album, is probably going to end up being the most disappointing album of the year for me. "Nothing to Worry About" and "Lay It Down" are both catchy in a goofy sort of way, but most of the album borders on flat-out weirdness. Definitely nothing here as good as "Young Folks" or "Let's Call It Off".
8. I finally got around to watching Oliver Stone's
W, and it was more than a little surprising. The fact that it presented our 43rd President as an ignorant fool was in no way a shocker. But by the end of the movie, Stone has the viewer feeling sorry for a simple-minded guy who was driven to succeed by mindless ambition and a desire to prove to his father he's not a failure, and who's eventually duped into terrible decisions by the evil men he's surrounded himself with. Kinda reminded me of a figure from those Greek and Shakespearean tragedies we all have to read in high school. Definitely wasn't expecting
that. By the way, believe all the hype about Josh Brolin as "W", it's totally legit.
9. Phoenix is a French Pop/Rock band who has a knack for writing those songs that are catchy enough to appeal to just about anyone who likes music. You've heard them if you've seen the movie
Shallow Hal (you know, the part where Jack Black is getting down with all the large women on the dance floor). Their new album,
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, is probably the best thing they've ever done, and "1901" would probably be my track of the year for 2009 if I had to pick one right now. I don't see anyone beating them out for album title of the year, either.
10. Discovery Health, easily the most depressing/disturbing channel on television, has a show called I Didn't Know I was Pregnant. The women literally have no idea they're pregnant until the kid starts popping out. Seriously, what is wrong with people?
Read more...
In case you hadn't heard or seen this already (it's kinda everywhere right now), one of the best new acts from last year, Memory Tapes, remixed what I consider to be the best track of 2009, Phoenix's "1901". But realistically it's a bit of a stretch to call this a "remix". It's really more of a complete restructuring; think Robocop or Darth Vader. The only remnants of the original are Thomas Mars' vocals, which are scattered throughout the track. Needless to say, if you, I, or anyone else end up digging this, it won't be because Dayve Hawke was coat-tailing off the catchiness that made "1901" a hit...
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