This is the next post in my random review of my favorite CD's released in my lifetime that began with 1978.
5). The Tragically Hip - Live Between Us
In my original post, when I set up the rule I would use when choosing the CD's to write about, I said that I wouldn't disqualify live albums, and this disc is makes me glad that I didn't. The Tragically Hip (also known simply as "The Hip") is a Canadian rock band that has a huge following in their native country (they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005), but are virtually unknown in this country (except for areas that are close enough to get some Canadian crossover, like my hometown of Erie, PA). It really is a crime that they never really discovered in this country, as I think they would have been a fairly popular staple of alternative/college radio back in the 90's.
Live Between Us was released after their 5th studio album (1996's Trouble at the Henhouse) at the height of their popularity - the week this disc was released, it put 8 songs on the Canadian top 20 list. It contains live versions of my 2 favorite songs by The Hip - "Springtime In Vienna" and "Ahead By A Century". Listening to this disc always takes me back to the late 90's in Erie, when the only way to get decent music on the radio was to pick up the Canadian alternative station from Hamilton, Ontario when conditions were right over Lake Erie...
4). Belle & Sebastian - Dog On Wheels/Lazy Line Painter Jane/3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Life EPs
While none of these are full length CD's, they were all released in the same year and, had they instead been released as one disc, would probably be Belle & Sebastian's best album. Belle & Sebastian play what is known as "twee pop", probably the least masculine form of alternative music there is (although Emo is a lot more whiny, so it might take that title). Twee is a cute, soft-sounding, totally white person version of indie pop that, while not very "rock 'n' roll", nevertheless is some of the most beautiful-sounding pop music ever produced, and Belle & Sebastian are the flag bearers.
B&S had 2 albums under their belt when they released this trio of EP's in 1997, and their fame in the indie music world was still mostly ahead of them. However, these EP's contain some of my favorite songs of theirs, including my #1 favorite "Lazy Line Painter Jane".
3). Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney is one of the greatest female rock bands in music history (not just in indie rock). They managed to do something that very few female acts were able to accomplish - they were able to make serious rock music on their own terms, without resorting to turning themselves into a bunch of over-sexed versions of the male fantasy "rocker chick" stereotype. And, man, do these women ROCK. They went on hiatus in 2006, which is a shame, because the music world definitely needs more women like these.
2). The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
Its pretty amazing that Biggie is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time based off of only 2 albums. That just goes to show how incredibly talented he was. He had the perfect combination of lyrics and rapping ability and was equally adept at firing off the angriest "life in the ghetto" song or the smoothest R&B-tinged song about his skills with the ladies. It has been 13 years since his death and he is sorely missed.
Life After Death is considered one of the top hip hop albums of all time, and was certified Diamond, meaning it sold over 10 million copies. It was nominated for and won a ton of awards when it was released. Unfortunately, Biggie didn't get to enjoy any of that, as it wasn't released until after his death.
1). Radiohead - OK Computer
We move from one of the to Hip Hop records of all time to what is considered by many to be the greatest alternative album of all time (1997 was a pretty good year in music apparently). This was Radiohead's third album, and it marked their transition away from the more straight forward rock-based music of their first 2 albums and showed that they were not afraid to totally reinvent themselves to keep their music on the cutting edge of creativity. From this point forward, Radiohead positioned themselves at the top of the Alternative music world and left a sea of imitators (I'm looking at you, Coldplay) trying to keep up, and while many of them made good music, none of them were as good or as innovative as Radiohead was over their next few albums.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
1970: Movies Pt. 2
(Here is a link to Part 1)
MASH:
Since I was a kid of the late 70's and 80's, I had a lot of exposure to the MASH TV show, as it was in constant rotation in syndication (even as it was still showing new episodes on CBS) as I was growing up. I loved that show and it wasn't until I was much older that I was even aware that the show was based on a movie. Finally, when I was in college, I got around to watching Robert Altman's film. I was apprehensive going in that, because of my exposure to the TV show, I wouldn't be able to appreciate the movie without comparing the two. That lasted about 5 minutes. After that, I became engrossed in the film and really didn't give the TV show another thought.
Just like Catch 22 (from Part 1 of my 1970 series), Altman uses dark humor in the setting of a previous war to offer an anti-Vietnam War message. In this case, its the Korean War and a surgical hospital that has to deal with the attrocities of war every day. The way that the main characters - surgeons Hawkeye, Duke and Trapper John - dealt with these horrors was to drinl and carouse and basically do whatever they wanted - anything to make them forget they were in the Army when they were off duty. They ran the camp, and anyone who tried to stop them were either run out of there (Frank Burns) or eventually assimilated to their side (Hotlips). The results were always hilarious - Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould were at the top of their comedic game.
While Catch 22 was decent, this is the far superior film of the two.
Coming soon - Part 3!
MASH:
Since I was a kid of the late 70's and 80's, I had a lot of exposure to the MASH TV show, as it was in constant rotation in syndication (even as it was still showing new episodes on CBS) as I was growing up. I loved that show and it wasn't until I was much older that I was even aware that the show was based on a movie. Finally, when I was in college, I got around to watching Robert Altman's film. I was apprehensive going in that, because of my exposure to the TV show, I wouldn't be able to appreciate the movie without comparing the two. That lasted about 5 minutes. After that, I became engrossed in the film and really didn't give the TV show another thought.
Just like Catch 22 (from Part 1 of my 1970 series), Altman uses dark humor in the setting of a previous war to offer an anti-Vietnam War message. In this case, its the Korean War and a surgical hospital that has to deal with the attrocities of war every day. The way that the main characters - surgeons Hawkeye, Duke and Trapper John - dealt with these horrors was to drinl and carouse and basically do whatever they wanted - anything to make them forget they were in the Army when they were off duty. They ran the camp, and anyone who tried to stop them were either run out of there (Frank Burns) or eventually assimilated to their side (Hotlips). The results were always hilarious - Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould were at the top of their comedic game.
While Catch 22 was decent, this is the far superior film of the two.
Coming soon - Part 3!
Monday, November 8, 2010
1970: Movies Pt. 1
As I stated in one of my very first blog posts, despite the fact I have seen a lot of movies, and I love 70's movies in particular, there are still a lot of great films from the decade that I have not seen. I am going to try and rectify that. I going to pick one year in the decade at a time and, using various movie lists on Wikipedia (Oscar nominees, top grossing, critics' year end lists), I am going to look for the notable films that I haven't seen (and probably a few I have seen that I want to re-watch). I am going to start with 1970, but will probably pick the remaining years at random to mix things up...
Five Easy Pieces
This film brought Jack Nicholson is first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (he would be nominated 7 more times, winning twice), and he definitely turns in a fantastic performance that carries the film. Nicholson plays a California oil worker that, unbeknownst to his lower class waitress girlfriend, actually comes from an upper class family of musicians (Nicholson's character was a child prodigy on the piano). when he finds out his father is sick, he heads back to his family home after a long exile, reluctantly bringing his girlfriend with him. Nicholson finds out that things really haven't changed and he still doesn't fit in, even though he had recently come to the revelation that he didn't fit in with his current life either. That's pretty much it for the plot, but Nicholson turns in one of his bravura performances as a man capable of bubbling over with crazy rage at any moment (the slow burn in the scene with the waitress in the diner was fantastic).
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a movie with a similar intent to MASH (a movie I have already seen, but will be re-watching for this blog series) - use black comedy and an absurdist style (this is more so for Catch Than MASH) to show the horrors of war and use a previous war (WWII for Catch and Korea for MASH) as a standing for Vietnam.
Catch-22 uses a non-linear style, and that makes the film a little hard to follow. There was a point in the movie where, because of how the scenes were transpiring after the opening scene, I was sure that everything that was happening was in the main character's imagination. It turns out I was wrong, but that just demonstrates how disorienting it was to try and follow what was going on. The humor works for the most part, and the film boasts a pretty outstanding cast (Alan Arkin, Jon Voight, Orson Welles, Anthony Perkins and a bunch of other recognizable faces). However, I prefer MASH's attempt at the same subject matter (or at least I think I do - its been about 15 years since I saw MASH, so we'll see when I re-watch it).
(I couldn't find an official trailer for this film - apparently, re-cutting the trailer into your own version, and filming your own trailer are popular school assignments, as that was all I could find on YouTube...)
MASH - Coming Soon
Airport - Coming Soon
Woodstock - Coming Soon
Other notable films that I have already seen - Patton, Gimme Shelter
Notable Films I am skipping - Love Story (I know that this is another milestone movie from 1970, and that it was nominated for, and won, a bunch of awards, but it just does not interest me in the least. So, PASS.)
Five Easy Pieces
This film brought Jack Nicholson is first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (he would be nominated 7 more times, winning twice), and he definitely turns in a fantastic performance that carries the film. Nicholson plays a California oil worker that, unbeknownst to his lower class waitress girlfriend, actually comes from an upper class family of musicians (Nicholson's character was a child prodigy on the piano). when he finds out his father is sick, he heads back to his family home after a long exile, reluctantly bringing his girlfriend with him. Nicholson finds out that things really haven't changed and he still doesn't fit in, even though he had recently come to the revelation that he didn't fit in with his current life either. That's pretty much it for the plot, but Nicholson turns in one of his bravura performances as a man capable of bubbling over with crazy rage at any moment (the slow burn in the scene with the waitress in the diner was fantastic).
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a movie with a similar intent to MASH (a movie I have already seen, but will be re-watching for this blog series) - use black comedy and an absurdist style (this is more so for Catch Than MASH) to show the horrors of war and use a previous war (WWII for Catch and Korea for MASH) as a standing for Vietnam.
Catch-22 uses a non-linear style, and that makes the film a little hard to follow. There was a point in the movie where, because of how the scenes were transpiring after the opening scene, I was sure that everything that was happening was in the main character's imagination. It turns out I was wrong, but that just demonstrates how disorienting it was to try and follow what was going on. The humor works for the most part, and the film boasts a pretty outstanding cast (Alan Arkin, Jon Voight, Orson Welles, Anthony Perkins and a bunch of other recognizable faces). However, I prefer MASH's attempt at the same subject matter (or at least I think I do - its been about 15 years since I saw MASH, so we'll see when I re-watch it).
(I couldn't find an official trailer for this film - apparently, re-cutting the trailer into your own version, and filming your own trailer are popular school assignments, as that was all I could find on YouTube...)
MASH - Coming Soon
Airport - Coming Soon
Woodstock - Coming Soon
Other notable films that I have already seen - Patton, Gimme Shelter
Notable Films I am skipping - Love Story (I know that this is another milestone movie from 1970, and that it was nominated for, and won, a bunch of awards, but it just does not interest me in the least. So, PASS.)
Monday, November 1, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 14
Usually for my marathon, I try and watch a mix of things I haven't seen and some classics that I have. This year, however, since I expanded the festivities to include all of October, and I already watched a ton of movies I haven't seen, I am sticking mostly to classics this year...
Halloween (1978)
I have mentioned several times in other posts that Halloween is my favorite horror film of all time, so I always include it in my end of the month day long marathon. It needs to be watched at night, so I actually watched it as the first film this year (I decided to start my marathon the night before my scheduled day off from work) - Thursday night was our Trick 'r' Treat night, so I felt this was the perfect film for that night.
I love what John Carpenter was able to do in this film with what little he had (it was made for around $300,000), and he did it without a lot of blood. The film is scarier for how it doesn't show things and lets your imagination fill in the rest. My two favorite scenes are near the end. 1.) Right after Laurie discovers that he friends are all dead, she is standing in the hallway, and you slowly notice Michael Myers in a darkened doorway as he comes into focus. 2.) The very end, where Dr. Loomis goes to look at the body of Michael on the ground below and discovers he is gone (the look of terror on the doctor's face is awesome).
April Fools Day (1986)
I had intended to watch this earlier in the week, not during the marathon, but I never got around to it. Since I had the disc already from Netflix, I decided to watch it. However, I was only half paying attention, since I was really trying to get my last blog post done. I don't have much to say about it, other than maybe I'll try to watch it again next year.
Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987)
I decided to lump these 2 films together, since II is less a sequel and more some sort of sequel/re-make hybrid, only turned up 1000%.
Both films involve a cabin in the woods and evil spirits being unwittingly unleashed to possess people and steal their souls. The first film goes more for horror and scares, while the second throws in more gruesome comedy and over the top spectacle. Both are considered horror classics, and I can't decide which one I like more. I really like the crazy gore of the first one. The effects are cheap, but that adds to the overall enjoyment - it makes the possessed seem even more otherworldly. I also LOVE Bruce Campbell's manic performance in II as he quickly loses his mind. Both films deserve their status among the all time greats.
Poltergeist (1982)
I haven't seen this film in years, and I forgot how great it is. So many great scenes: the steak on the counter, the guy who pulls his own face apart, the corpses in the pool, the killer creepy ass clown doll, the tree. Steven Spielberg, while not the credited director, definitely had a lot of influence on the production. It is a very slick looking film that holds up well today (the version I watched was in HD and looked pretty fantastic).
The Exorcist (1973)
I have said previously that horror movies don't scare me, but I love them any way. This is the only movie that scared me when I first watched it. I was in 8th grade, I was home alone, and for some reason I decided to watch this film with the lights off. This film scared the bejeezus out of me. It took all my effort just to get up and turn the light on when it was done, and the lamp was like 5 feet away from me. the combination of the makeup effects and the gravelly voice Regan uses when fully possessed (not to mention the things that this young girl does and says under the influence of the demon) result in some of the most disturbing scenes ever in a film. Linda Blair does a fantastic job as the possessed little girl. The makeup adds a lot to the portrayal, but she still holds up her end.
The Stepfather (1987)
This film would not be that memorable if not for one thing - the portrayal by Terry O'Quinn of the main character. O'Quinn showed on Lost that he is excellent at playing disturbed individuals that had less than ideal upbringings, and that serves him very well here. The Stepfather is about a man (O'Quinn) who moves from family to family (and identity to identity), killing off the family when they no longer meet his ideal of structure and order. He is striving for the sort of straight-laced, white bread family of the TV shows of his youth (one scene shows him watching and professing his love for Mr. Ed in one scene). When his family is unable to live up to that ideal, he eliminates them and moves on to another. O'Quinn portrays both aspects of his character - the All-American family man and the off the deep end psychopath both with equal creepiness. Its a shame that it took so long after this role for him to get the recognition his acting deserves.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
I was actually able to see this film in the theater on its initial release. I was only 10, and my friend and I convinced his mom to take us, telling her that my dad would be fine with seeing that type of movie since he was the one that too my friend and me to see The Terminator, also rated R (never mind that they were 2 totally different types of films). I managed to avoid any deep psychological damage from watching this type of film at such a young age, bit instead I came away with a love for the character of Freddy Krueger. First, he was unlike almost any other killer in horror films to that point. He had a sense of humor and he wasn't just a mindless killing machine, like Jason Voorhees. he seemed to enjoy what he was doing, which made him that much creepier (Robert Englund always delivered the goods as Freddy, sometimes being the only thing worth watching in the later, lower quality sequels). Also, he had the coolest weapon ever. Every kid who say this film were in love with the finger knives, and Freddy was a very popular Halloween costume for many years.
Halloween (1978)
I have mentioned several times in other posts that Halloween is my favorite horror film of all time, so I always include it in my end of the month day long marathon. It needs to be watched at night, so I actually watched it as the first film this year (I decided to start my marathon the night before my scheduled day off from work) - Thursday night was our Trick 'r' Treat night, so I felt this was the perfect film for that night.
I love what John Carpenter was able to do in this film with what little he had (it was made for around $300,000), and he did it without a lot of blood. The film is scarier for how it doesn't show things and lets your imagination fill in the rest. My two favorite scenes are near the end. 1.) Right after Laurie discovers that he friends are all dead, she is standing in the hallway, and you slowly notice Michael Myers in a darkened doorway as he comes into focus. 2.) The very end, where Dr. Loomis goes to look at the body of Michael on the ground below and discovers he is gone (the look of terror on the doctor's face is awesome).
April Fools Day (1986)
I had intended to watch this earlier in the week, not during the marathon, but I never got around to it. Since I had the disc already from Netflix, I decided to watch it. However, I was only half paying attention, since I was really trying to get my last blog post done. I don't have much to say about it, other than maybe I'll try to watch it again next year.
Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987)
I decided to lump these 2 films together, since II is less a sequel and more some sort of sequel/re-make hybrid, only turned up 1000%.
Both films involve a cabin in the woods and evil spirits being unwittingly unleashed to possess people and steal their souls. The first film goes more for horror and scares, while the second throws in more gruesome comedy and over the top spectacle. Both are considered horror classics, and I can't decide which one I like more. I really like the crazy gore of the first one. The effects are cheap, but that adds to the overall enjoyment - it makes the possessed seem even more otherworldly. I also LOVE Bruce Campbell's manic performance in II as he quickly loses his mind. Both films deserve their status among the all time greats.
Poltergeist (1982)
I haven't seen this film in years, and I forgot how great it is. So many great scenes: the steak on the counter, the guy who pulls his own face apart, the corpses in the pool, the killer creepy ass clown doll, the tree. Steven Spielberg, while not the credited director, definitely had a lot of influence on the production. It is a very slick looking film that holds up well today (the version I watched was in HD and looked pretty fantastic).
The Exorcist (1973)
I have said previously that horror movies don't scare me, but I love them any way. This is the only movie that scared me when I first watched it. I was in 8th grade, I was home alone, and for some reason I decided to watch this film with the lights off. This film scared the bejeezus out of me. It took all my effort just to get up and turn the light on when it was done, and the lamp was like 5 feet away from me. the combination of the makeup effects and the gravelly voice Regan uses when fully possessed (not to mention the things that this young girl does and says under the influence of the demon) result in some of the most disturbing scenes ever in a film. Linda Blair does a fantastic job as the possessed little girl. The makeup adds a lot to the portrayal, but she still holds up her end.
The Stepfather (1987)
This film would not be that memorable if not for one thing - the portrayal by Terry O'Quinn of the main character. O'Quinn showed on Lost that he is excellent at playing disturbed individuals that had less than ideal upbringings, and that serves him very well here. The Stepfather is about a man (O'Quinn) who moves from family to family (and identity to identity), killing off the family when they no longer meet his ideal of structure and order. He is striving for the sort of straight-laced, white bread family of the TV shows of his youth (one scene shows him watching and professing his love for Mr. Ed in one scene). When his family is unable to live up to that ideal, he eliminates them and moves on to another. O'Quinn portrays both aspects of his character - the All-American family man and the off the deep end psychopath both with equal creepiness. Its a shame that it took so long after this role for him to get the recognition his acting deserves.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
I was actually able to see this film in the theater on its initial release. I was only 10, and my friend and I convinced his mom to take us, telling her that my dad would be fine with seeing that type of movie since he was the one that too my friend and me to see The Terminator, also rated R (never mind that they were 2 totally different types of films). I managed to avoid any deep psychological damage from watching this type of film at such a young age, bit instead I came away with a love for the character of Freddy Krueger. First, he was unlike almost any other killer in horror films to that point. He had a sense of humor and he wasn't just a mindless killing machine, like Jason Voorhees. he seemed to enjoy what he was doing, which made him that much creepier (Robert Englund always delivered the goods as Freddy, sometimes being the only thing worth watching in the later, lower quality sequels). Also, he had the coolest weapon ever. Every kid who say this film were in love with the finger knives, and Freddy was a very popular Halloween costume for many years.
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