TOP 20 ALBUMS of 2006


20.) Yo La Tango-I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass











19.) Akron/Family-Meek Warrior











18.) The Raconteurs- Broken Boy Soldiers













17.) The Gothic Archies-The Tragic Treasury












16.) The Like Young-Last Secrets













15.) +/- -Let's Build a Fire












14.) The Flaming Lips-At War with the Mystics













13.) Danielson-Ships













12.) Half-Handed Cloud-Halos + Lassos













11.) Casiotone for the Painfully Alone-Etiquette













10.) Beirut-Gulag Orkestar













9.) Tom Waits-Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards












8.) The Fiery Furnaces-Bitter Tea












7.) Tapes 'n Tapes-The Loon













6.) Peter Bjorn and John-Writer's Block













5.) Beach House-Beach House













4.) Sunset Rubdown-Shut Up I am Dreaming













3.) Clipse-Hell Hath No Fury














2.) Joanna Newsom-Ys













1.) Man Man-Six Demon Bag

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APOCALYPTO-8.9

I simply can’t state how great a tragedy this film is. It is the best movie of the year. My personal favorite is Little Miss Sunshine, but the greatest achievement in filmmaking this year is Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto by leaps and bounds. So, why is it a tragedy? If Mr. Gibson had not been a complete ass this film would be getting the all so important Oscar talks it deserves. Awards aside, this film is a piece of art that I would cement as an all time classic. Not since Kurosawa has a director presented such an epic story where the smallest pieces of the narrative have been magnified to create a unique world that literally transports the audience to that time period and setting. A friend proposed that Apocalypto is a high-octane action thrill ride with the sensibility of an art house flick. Everything from the acting, camera moves (some that I’ve never seen used in film before), and Mr. Gibson’s directing is nothing short of perfection. I’ve talked to people who refuse to watch this movie because of his drunken slurs…please if you are one of these people, go see the movie in theaters, not on a small television screen off of Netflix. Do it for the sake of great cinema, you will not be disappointed.

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MESTIZO Live @ Random Bar (Buenos Aires, Argentina Dec 8th, 2006 )-9.0

My cousin and I walk into a local bar to drink a few cold ones and we are struck by bad rock and roll strumming accompanied by sad lyrics. We look at the band, I turn to my cousin, laugh, and say: "That guitar player is trying hard to look like Edge from U2." We pay for the drinks and sit at the bar ignoring the band. The song ends, the small crowd claps and then like a beam of light cast through the clouds....(cymbal, strum, bass hit) THEY START PLAYING U2's a "Beautiful Day." They were a U2 cover band and it was great. They even try to save the world on the side. I give the show a -1 for the music and a 10 for the spectacle and how serious the band was about playing U2's songs note for note, and doing their moves fist pump for fist pump. They were playing at a small local bar about a twenty minute walk from our Hotel, nothing big, but after research, they sell out stadiums and parks across the world. Enjoy:

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Joanna Newsom live @ Headliners (Louisville, KY-Nov 24th, 2006)- 9.4

Ys has to be one of the front runners for my best of 2006 albums and seeing Newsom live only heightened my admiration for her beautiful music. First off, she is now tied with Eleanor Friedberger for the number one position on my "marry on the spot list" an honor she is proud to accept. She started off with some old songs and with a smile said, "Now I would like to play you my new album." The whole album you may ask yourself? Yes. Well, kind of. She played the first four tracks if her album with her back-up band until the crowd was restless, her monitor was on the fritz, and she stood up and said, thank you....and walked out on my life. The show was simply amazing and no words can do it justice. If she happens to stroll into your city get your hands on a ticket and have your jaw drop to the floor.

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Film Review




Casino Royale- 4.3

Borat- 7.9

Stranger Than Fiction- 5.7

Babel- 5.9

The Departed- 6.2

The Prestige- 4.5

For Your Consideration- 4.8

The Last King of Scotland- 7.8

The Science of Sleep- 4.1

Half Nelson- 6.9

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Top 25 Films (5-1)






5.) Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)












4.) Slacker (Richard Linklater, 1991)













3.) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)














2.) Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)














1.) Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996)

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Top 25 Films (9-6)

9.) The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)













8.) 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)












7.) The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)














6.) Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

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Top 25 (14-10)



14.) On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)












13.) American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)












12.) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)











11.) Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993)













10.) A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

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Top 25 Films (19-15)





19.) Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)













18.) Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)













17.) Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)











16.) Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)











15.) High Noon (Fred Zinnemann 1952)

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TOP 25 Films (25-20)

25.) Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)








24.) Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)









23.) The Graduate (Mike Nichols,1967)













22.) Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986)













21.) Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)















20.)Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

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Philanthrology

The new shins album=amazing. Here is a track for you to enjoy.

The Shins - Australia.mp3

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THE LIKE YOUNG

This band is amazing...and they quit last month!

Pixies meet old weezer with style to give. Enjoy.

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-SCRIP CLIP-


MAGNOLIA-Paul Thomas Anderson


INT. SMILING PEANUT BAR - THAT MOMENT

CAMERA pulls back from the TELEVISION above the bar, playing
the show. We see Jimmy start to chat w/and do intro's for the adults.
(Director's Note: This runs through scene and a complete script
is avail/will be shot.)

Donnie and Thurston and the Patrons continued;

DONNIE
....do you know who I am?

THURSTON
You're a friend of the family I presume?

DONNIE
What? What does that mean?

THURSTON
Nothing special, just a spoke in the wheel.

DONNIE
You talk in rhymes and riddles and
ra...rub-adub --- but that doesn't mean
anything to me, see....see...see I used
to be smart....I'm Quiz Kid Donnie Smith.
I'm Quiz Kid Donnie Smith from the tv --

THURSTON
Might of been before my time.

PATRON #1
I remember you. I remember. In the 60's right?

DONNIE
I'm Quiz Kid Donnie Smith.

THURSTON
...like you said...

PATRON #1
Smart Kid! Fuck, yeah, he-he. You got
hit by lightning that one time, right?

DONNIE
So what?

PATRON #1
I heard about that.

PATRON #2
Did it hurt?

DONNIE
Yes.

THURSTON
But you're alright now, so what's the what?

DONNIE
What?

THURSTON
That's right.

DONNIE
I used to be smart but now I'm just stupid.

THURSTON
Brad, dear?

Brad turns and looks:

THURSTON
Who was it that said: "A man of genius
has seldom been ruined but by himself."

DONNIE
(to himself)
-- Samuel Johnson.

BRAD
I don't know.

Donnie looks up at Brad. Brad smiles with his braces, Donnie looks
away quick --

THURSTON
It was the lovely Samuel Johnson who
also spoke of a fella "Who was not only
dull but a cause of dullness in others."

DONNIE
"The" cause of dullness in others --

THURSTON
Picky, picky.

DONNIE
-- and lemme tell you this: Samuel Johnson
never had his life shit on and taken from
him and his money stolen -- who took his
life and his money? His parents?
His mommy and daddy? Make him live this life
like this -- "A man of genius" gets shit on
as a child and that scars and it hurts and
have you ever been hit by lighting? It hurts
and it doesn't happen to everyone, it's an
electrical charge that finds it's way across
the universe and lands in your body and your
head -- and as for "ruined but by himself,"
not if his parents take his friggin' life and
his money and tell you to do this and do that and
if you don't? well, what --

PATRON #1
You're parents took your money you won
on that game show?

DONNIE
Yes they did.
(turns quick to Thurston)
What does that mean, "spoke in the wheel?"

THURSTON
Things go round 'n round, don't they?

DONNIE
Yes they do, they do, but I'll make
my dreams come true, you see? I will.

THURSTON
This sounds Sad as a Weeping Willow.

DONNIE
I used to be smart but now I'm just stupid.

THURSTON
Shall we drink to that?

Donnie looks to the television for a moment, starts to tear up,
CAMERA pushes in slow to an EXTREME CLOSE UP.

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Smith, Elliott

One of his last four demo tracks.

elliott smith - Basement Demos - Talking to Mary.mp3

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MOVIES AND YOU

HALF NELSON

























I would tout this movie as the opposite of Dead Poet's Society with a pinch of drug use, Indie rock music, civil rights preaching, and a screenwriter who wrote simple scenes from his own life, like going to a bar...or waking up and having a smoke...or something else that is utterly mundane. With all this said, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it. I'm a sucker for films that attempt a character study based on a 24/7 interacting with our protagonist. The quest for reality is sometimes painful but works as a cinematic investment, you leave the theatre feeling connected with the problems the character faced over the two hours. The acting was slightly above mediocre and the constant civil rights reminders don't seem to connect or make any sense to the stories overall themes. The film is about being trapped. Trapped with a drug addiction, a poor lifestyle, a rich lifestyle, the inability to connect with the opposite sex, and basically trapped by life. When the film focuses on this overall theme, the audience is sucked in...but the constant tampering with the films narrative ultimately renders any special moment lame. It's a movie about talking but when the characters enter a house/room to continue the conversation and get to the meat of their feelings the narrative cuts and begins building the viewers interest somewhere else. The score, mainly supplied by Indie Gods, Broken Social Scene works perfectley and mimics the tone/visuals that the director employs. I have a lot of negitives to say but overall I feel like I've gained something from this film, some little nugget about life...don't do drugs? Don't live in a large city? Not those...maybe something about living up to potential or touching the lives around you. Whatever the gain, the film needs to viewed and then maybe you can tell me what I should have been touched by.

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Philanthrology

OF MONTREAL-Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Yes folks, once again Phil comes through while the time runs down. This musical gift is the new Of Montreal album. The verdict: the album is great. But I love Of Montreal...so is that really fair? Well, expanding, this album is the darkest and seems to be the most special presentation since the magical Cherry Peel album. Below is my favorite track off the album. It's a pop epic, a toe tapper, one for the whole family but at the same time you have to cover the babies ears becuase they aren't mature enough to enjoy the rock. Check it out and if you want the whole album...well, give me a call.

04 - heimdalsgate like a promethean curse.mp3

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Movies I Want To See

Here a few films I want to see:

The Motel
Stranger Than Fiction
Running With Scissors
Fast Food Nation
49 Up
The Science of Sleep

And the movie of the year so far, Little Miss Sunshine, won't leave my mind...so here is a track from the movie.

Devotchka - The Winner Is.mp3

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