My Most Recent Favorite Song Of The Moment

"Starseed" by Our Lady Peace , from Naveed (1994)

Remember Our Lady Peace? You're probably embarrassed to admit that you ever liked them, but at least "Starseed" is actually still awesome. One of my favorite choruses of the 90s. Don't hate.

The Dismemberment Plan/JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound/Kid You'll Move Mountains @ The Metro, 2/19/11

Last Saturday, Bravender, Jensen and I (along with a few other buds) had the pleasure of attending the first of two Dismemberment Plan reunion shows in Chicago. Unfortunately, Sunday's show featured the better line-up (The Forms and Maritime), but it didn't even matter.

The opening act, Kid, You'll Move Mountains, was less than desirable. They sounded like a Christian post-rock/emo band, which just ain't my jam anymore. The singing was way too nice.

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound are a modern Chicago soul group, which isn't really interesting to me, but, I can't deny that they were impressive musicians and performers. They did a cover of Wilco's "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" that was pretty cool.

I don't know why I never saw The Dismemberment Plan around 2002-03, when it seemed like they played Detroit every four months or so. After the set I witnessed on Saturday, I regret not seeing them many times before. It's a great feeling when a band you're so excited to see leaves out two of the songs you wanted them to play the most (in this case, "Sentimental Man" and "The Other Side" from 2001's Change), and you can still consider it a perfect set. Everything else they played, I wanted to hear. Even the songs I had never heard before (the few they played from their debut full length, !) were awesome.

Opening with "A Life of Possibilities" and then going straight into "The Face of the Earth" was easily one of the show's high points (of which there were many). Seeing Joe Easley and his octopus arms flailing to "Girl O'Clock" was another one. "Ellen and Ben" sounded better than it ever has to me before. I had never noticed how beautiful Jason Cadell's guitar part is at the end of the song. And, obviously, the encore was the highest of the high, thanks to "The Ice of Boston," "The City" and the set's closer, "Back and Forth."

I could continue listing all the amazing performances that occured during this wonderous set, but that would get repetitive, as every single song ruled. Everything about the set was perfect: songs, tightness, Travis Morrison's banter, etc. I could not have asked for a better experience seeing The Dismemberment Plan for the first time ever. It didn't hurt that I had a fantastic conversation with Easley at a bar next door after the show, and later on, Bravender and I were subject to some potentially big news from bassist Eric Axelson. Hopefully more on that at another time.

Dirty Work/Fantastic Mr. Fox/Ghost World

Dirty Work (1998)

Written by Frank Sebastiano, Norm MacDonald and Fred Wolf, directed by Bob Saget

As big of a Chris Farley fan I was when I was in elementary and middle school, I can't believe I hadn't seen Dirty Work until just now. Not that it's that big a deal; it's no good at all. However, I'm much more a fan of Norm MacDonald in retrospect than I ever was in those days, and here, he is simply himself: awkward, dry and obvious. He can't tell a joke without laying it all out for the viewer and stressing that it is a joke. I like that about him, though. Also, this might be Farley at his funniest since Tommy Boy. I have nothing to say about the plot or the other performances.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, directed by Wes Anderson

As big of a Wes Anderson fan as I am, I can't believe I just watched Fantastic Mr. Fox, the film adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's novel, for the first time this past Sunday. Just as I expected, it was gorgeous, funny and touched on the same themes as every other Anderson film (disfunctional family, bad fathers, redemption, etc.). The story, or at least Anderson's version of it, is a little inconsistent, but that doesn't even matter considering the strength of the voice acting performances and overall look of the film. Unsurprisingly, Anderson's clever and unconventional dialogue helps quite a bit, too.

Ghost World (2001)

Written by Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, directed by Terry Zwigoff

This adaptation of Daniel Clowes' comic book series is pretty terrible. I don't understand this, as Clowes himself co-wrote the film. Aside from Steve Buscemi and Bob Balaban, the acting is atrocious. The cynicism of the two main characters is never funny and gets irritating quickly. The writing is sloppy. There are films with these types of characters and about these kind of subject matters that are much better. Why do people love this one so much?

Torso

Torso - Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko (1998-99)

I have been on quite the journey over the past few years trying to catch up on all that I've missed in the realm of comics and graphic novels. Few collections have struck me so much as Torso, a true crime account of the Cleveland Torso Murderer of the mid-1930s. If you know me well, you know I like to read about some pretty messed up stuff, and obviously that is represented well in these pages. While the dreary mood and gruesome storyline of Torso were enough to win me over, it was really easy to get attached to the happenings and people caught up in this insane invent. What really took it over the edge and what really helped to make the graphic novel easily one of the best I've ever read is Brian Michael Bendis' art direction. The drawings within the panels aren't all that impressive, it's more how they were combined with actual photographs from the various murder scenes and elsewhere in Cleveland. Also, just the way the panels are set up on the page (at least in a number of instances) stressed the sense of mystery and confusion, and additionally made the book even fun to read. Torso is pretty much perfect in every way.

Deerhoof/Ben Butler and Mousepad/Child Bite/Marco Polio and the New Vaccines @ The Crofoot Ballroom, 2/14/11

On Valentine's Day 2011, I took a trip up to the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac with my friend Matt to see the mighty Deerhoof. In spite of leaving my wallet back at home (thus, no drinking and no merch), being single ruled this night.

Detroit's Marco Polio and the New Vaccines undeservedly started things off. How they are getting to open for such sweet shows (they opened for Women back in September), I have no idea.

My buds Child Bite brought redemption when they played second. Of their recordings, their newest LP, The Living Breathing Organ Summer, captures their live energy the best. Their set was filled mostly with these songs, while also playing two of the best songs from their sophomore effort, Fantastic Gusts of Blood. They are really fun to watch.

I don't know anything about Ben Butler and Mousepad, but they put on quite a show. This duo featured a dude playing a tiny Korg synth and one helluva drummer. Their songs were instrumental, spazzy and full of rhythm and time trickery.

The highlight of the night was definitely and obviously Deerhoof. They played one of the most impressive live sets I have ever seen. All four members are masters at their instruments as well as great entertainers. Greg Saunier's charming nerdiness was evident in his in-between-song banter, and of course it was a real mindblow to get to see him elaborate on his already insane drumming live. Satomi Matsuzaki was utterly adorable with all her hand motions and dancing around when she wasn't playing bass. What impressed me the most, though, was how both John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez played their guitars. Those dudes are some incredible guitarists who somehow mesh classic rock and techy emo-ish styles perfectly, and it was inspiring to see them chime so wonderfully and wail so hard. This was especially awesome on the songs that are more dependent on keyboards and synths. In these cases, those parts were played on guitar. Unfortunately, this made me like the live versions of these songs more than the album versions (especially Milk Man's "Desaparecere").

While Deerhoof's setlist wasn't completely ideal for me ("You Can See," "The Galaxist," "Offend Maggie" and "Family of Others" were all missing), it didn't even matter thanks to how incredibly they performed. I don't recall the band touching anything from The Runners Four (which is a silly decisicion, if you ask me), but the band a good variety of songs from all over their career while mostly showcasing jams from the newest LP. My personal favorites were "Milk Man," "Desaparecere," "The Perfect Me," "The Tears and Music of Love," "Qui Dorm, Nomes Somia," "Behold a Marvel in the Darkness," "The Merry Barracks" and "I Did Crimes for You."

Without question, Deerhoof's set on Valentine's Day goes down as one of my favorite live performances I've ever experienced.

Dexter: Season 4/Crimson Vol. 1 & 2

Dexter: Season 4 (2009)

I only recently began my journey with Michael C. Hall as Dexter within the past year or so. Unfortunately, I skipped the first two seasons and just picked up with the third, and it didn't even matter. Sure, I missed a bunch of sweet, messed up stuff, but I got a good enough grasp on the characters to carry on. My roommates and I spent the last part of January and early part of February getting through the fourth season, and, unsurprisingly, it ruled. All the characters were just as likeable as I remember, and I continued to grow even more attached to them as the season went on. This particular season, and it seems the entire series in general, does a fantastic job meshing together humor, violence and utter despair. The best parts about this season? John Lithgow and the devastating ending.

Crimson Vol. 1: Loyalty & Loss - Brian Augustyn & Humberto Ramos (1999)

Crimson Vol. 2: Heaven & Earth - Brian Augustyn & Humberto Ramos (2000)

After finishing Watchmen, I had reached a lull in my graphic novel reading. Then my roommate Julian recommended I at least start the Crimson series, which he had the first two books of. This series is not subtle whatsoever. It tells a story that already has been told many times: good vs. evil, Heaven vs. Hell, humans vs. vampires, etc. Unfortunately, the first volume, Loyalty & Loss, does a terrible job of starting things off. While the artwork is great, the characters and storytelling are way too juvenile for my liking (though, I'm sure I would have loved it in middle school or early high school). However, shit gets pretty good in the second volume, Heaven & Earth. All the characters are fleshed out more, obviously. The actual events that take place (angels murdering sinners, a werewolf backstory and the slaying of a dragon) are pretty bad ass. What's done really well in both books is the blurring and confusion of the line between good and evil. A vampire is the protagonist, a demon that happens to be the father of vampires seeks redemption, the Knights Templar and God's archangels are murderous bastards. The list goes on. While the Crimson series is far from perfect, Heaven & Earth got me interested in some day trying to complete the entire collection.

A Confederacy of Dunces/The Stranger/Grendel

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (1980)
My good bud Leah bought me this novel last summer, and I finally got around to reading it. Turns out, it is one of the absolute greatest I have ever read. Posthumously published in 1980, after author John Kennedy Toole's 1969 suicide, A Confederacy of Dunces won the Pullitzer Prize for fiction in 1981. The book is funnier than it is tragic, though there is a definite and sometimes overwhelming sense of sadness in certain sections. Ignatius J. Reilly, is quite possibly the best main character of any book I can think of. He offers up more hilarious quotes than even Holden Caulfield (my two personal favorites being, "In my private apocalypse he will be impaled by his own nightstick" and, "This liberal doxy must be impaled upon the member of a particularly large stallion"), and you love him, hate him and feel sorry for him for having to live with himself. This book is utterly perfect.

The Stranger - Albert Camus (1942)
Another Pullitzer Prize winning novel that I've been meaning to devour for some time, Albert Camus' The Stranger did not disappoint. As short and quick of a read it was (I read it entirely in one sitting at work), the plot's pace was fairly slow. I'm sure the moody feel to the story contributed to that. The Stranger is a dark, straightforward tale of murder which blatantly touches on the philosophy of nihilism. I loved it. It is most definitely worth a read.


Grendel - John Gardner (1971)
In my first semester english class during my senior year of high school, we read the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf from our annoyingly huge text books. Along with it, my fantastic teacher, Ms. Popp, had us read excerpts from John Gardner's retelling, Grendel, which is narrated by Beowulf's monster by the same name. I've always been fascinated by the character Grendel, so I've wanted to read Gardner's novel ever since it was introduced to me by Ms. Popp. Now that I've finally accomplished this mission, I can say that, though it was not at all what I expected, I was not let down. The portrayal of Grendel in this novel was really fun to read, as he is sort of humanized and there are plenty of parts where I felt sorry for him. His ongoing monologue is sometimes sad, often times humorous and steeped in existential and nihilistic philosophies. I got pretty disinterested in some of his philosophical rambling (aside from his conversation with the heavily nihilistic unnamed dragon), but over all, Grendel was a very intriguing and enjoyable character study.

My Two Favorite Songs Right Now

"Feed the Tree" by Belly, from Star (1993)


"What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers, from Minute by Minute (1978)

These are by no means my favorite songs of all time (though "What a Fool Believes" is certainly making a push), but these two very different jams have been ruling me for the past few months. You had better enjoy.

Watchmen

Watchmen - Alan Moore (1986-87)
About a week or so ago I decided it was high time I reread Alan Moore's classic (and best) comic series, Watchmen. It was the best decision. I thought it was a complete mindblow the first time through, but this time, whooooo boy.

As complex as the story is, I was surprised I remembered so much of it. All the little intricacies were just as fresh and impressive as the first time, but there was an added weight to it all as I knew what was coming and had a better grasp of how everything was layed out and unraveled. It was easier to read into the parallels between the main story and the pirate comic (Tales From the Black Freighter) subplot too, which was a huge bonus. But, the best part about rereading it was catching all the subtle hints at the ending throughout the first half of the collected book , which obviously I would have missed my first time through.

There is nothing to say that hasn't already been said about the variety of statements and critiques Watchmen makes in regards to government, good vs. evil, etc. So, I'll just close by saying that this book is absolutely perfect. And, also, I actually loved Zack Snyder's adaptation of this collected series, and cannot wait to view the director's cut which splices in the animated retelling of Tales From the Black Freighter within the film.

Super Bowl Sunday 2011

Heya! In case you didn't know it, today is Super Bowl Sunday. Usually on the first big day of any year, I would be spending the entirety of it in front of the television preparing for and then watching the game. But, this year, I was scheduled to work during it, and was unable to get my shift covered. This has devastated me. So, I'll be trying my damnedest to follow it as closely as possible on the internet whilst running back and forth between my station and the nurse's lounge to catch tidbits.

Anyway, on to predictions.

I see in my cloudly and most likely malfunctioning crystal ball that the Pittsburgh Steelers will come out on top of the Green Bay Packers in an extremely close, brutal game 21-20.

Ben Roethlisberger will throw for 200-ish yards, two TDs (to Hines Ward and Mike Wallace) and 1 interception (to Charles Woodson). He will avoid approximately 100 sacks, and also after the game, in spite of partying really hard, will be a good boy and not rape any young women.

Rashard Mendenhall will have a pretty mediocre game, rushing for 60 or 70 yards, but running one into the endzone early on.

Aaron Rodgers will throw for 250 yards and two TDs (one to Donald Driver, one to Jordy Nelson). There will be absolutely no ground game for Green Bay.

If there are to be any stellar performances, they will be by Rodgers or Troy Polamalu or maybe even James Harrison. MVP might go to Roethlisberger, or depending on the potential of this being Ward's last game, him.

Now, since on this day last year I correctly predicted this year's Super Bowl (yes, yes, in spite of changing my mind twice since then), I'm going to give that another shot. In next year's Super Bowl, as difficult as it will be for them, the Green Bay Packers will make a triumphant return to defeat the New England Patriots.

Inventory/The Rules of Attraction/Slaughterhouse-Five

Inventory - A.V. Club (2009)
Book of fun/sometimes funny/always interesting pop culture lists from the A.V. Club. Here's a list of a bunch of my favorites:

- NONE OF THESE EXCUSE MY SUPER SWEET 16: 22 shows that prove MTV actually brought some good into the world
- QUICK, MAN! CLING TENACIOUSLY TO MY BUTTOCKS!: 21 children's TV shows that found adult audiences
- PETER PARKER HAD IT EASY: 18-plus truly tough superhero adolescences
- VISIONARY OR MADMAN?: 16 career-jeopardizing labors of love
- PANIC AT THE ARCADE: 11 videogames that prompted fear and outrage
- NOT AGAIN: 24 great films too painful to watch twice
- LOST IN TRANSLATION: 20 not-so-good movies based on good books
- SECOND VERSE, (ALMOST THE) SAME AS THE FIRST: 14 relatively obscure bands that morphed into some of our favorites
- GUEST LIST BY "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC, FRAK BOIMP!: The 27 all-time coolest Don Martin sound effects
- GUEST LIST BY PATTON OSWALT: 6 quiet film revolutions
- OH, I GET IT NOW: 6 movies that make a lot more sense if you've read the book
- THE AMAZING DR. WHAT?: 26 real titles from old movies, shorts and cartoons that wouldn't fly today


The Rules of Attraction - Bret Easton Ellis (1987)
The best Bret Easton Ellis novel I've read yet, just as I suspected it would be. It features the usual satirical take on the usual scandalous subjects: sex, drugs, wealth, the 80s, etc... I have always loved the film version of The Rules of Attraction (starring James Vanderbeek, nonetheless), and now that I have finally read the novel, I can safely say the film is a fantastic adaptation. Sure, it cuts A LOT of details and things are out of order all over the place (well, that's actually hard to say, as events in the book don't seem to follow any pattern anyway), but the moods are matched very well and it is entirely its own entity. Also, the way Ellis blurs and confuses reality and fantasy is possibly unrivaled (he does that even better later in American Psycho). Hilarious, incredibly messed up, almost perfect.


Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
I was disappointed by this, and am really bummed that I ended up feeling that way. I feel silly that this was my first shot at a Kurt Vonnegut novel. His writing style is great, but I'm not sure if I just wasn't paying enough attention or if this plot is so scatterbrained that I just simply couldn't follow it. I caught on quickly to the obvious anti-war, anti-religion stances that I heard were so prevalent in Vonnegut's writing, but other than that, there wasn't much to hold my attention. I will definitely be giving this another shot in the future.

Three More Scores for January

The House of the Devil (2009)
Written and directed by Ti West
The House of the Devil touches on satanic cults, and is a great ode to classic late 70s and early 80s horror films. That and its style won me over instantly. It is incredibly slow paced and subtle. The acting is cheesy but appropriate. The visual, asthetic and musical styles really benefit this film. Loved it.

By the Hedge - Minks (Captured Tracks, 2011)
Last year saw yet another revival in 80s post-punk and shoegaze, and it seems that Brooklyn's Captured Tracks was at the forefront. The label kicks off 2011 with another doozy, Minks' By the Hedge. The album has a similar gothic feel to Wild Nothing (and also, duh, The Cure), but is more rough around the edges and some of the songs even have a smidge of 90s midwest emo in them. The production could be considered lo-fi, but it is nice and appropriate. The vocals, drums, chimey guitars and the chord progressions all contribute to the appeal of By the Hedge. It definitely doesn't hurt that all the songs are awesome, even if it took me forever to get past even the first two songs ("Kusmi" and "Out of Tune").

Split 7" - Women/Fair Ohs/Cold Pumas/Friendo (Faux Discx, 2011)
I first got wind of this 7" when I nerded out with the members of Women at their Detroit show back in September. I did not expect it to be obtainable so soon, let alone so easily. Bonus that Women's contribuation, "Bullfight, " which is a fantastic nod back to when they actually incorporated a pop element to their songs, isn't the only good song on here. In the context of this 7", Fair Ohs sound like a more crisp and cleaner version of Abe Vigoda's 2008 album, Skeleton. Cold Pumas are dark and noisy in the good way. Friendo, which features Women drummer Michael Wallace, seem to be jangly girl-fronted indie pop (actually, with a smidge of emo too). I am glad I nabbed one of these.