Everyone and his dog likes to make these.
I’ll post my own when I have more time, and I’ll try to include albums, shows, movies, and I would say books, but I don’t think I keep up enough with publishing to know what was published this year. Feel free to post your own, or links to others you find interesting.
Here’s a couple I thought were intriguing:
I am wondering if anyone is in a position to comment on satellite radio. I have been contemplating hooking myself up with Sirius or XM for quite a while now. It’s been years since I listened to the radio regularly - for obvious reasons. I get the impression that satellite radio would change that. I feel like satellite radio might open me up to new bands and stuff from bands I like that I haven’t heard. I’d appreciate any comments from those of you who have subscriptions or know people who do.
My family has two things we do every Christmas that have begun to turn into traditions. They’re not very traditional traditions, however.
Apologies for a self-indulgent post. It’s my birthday tomorrow, and my wife and I are going to the movies for the first time in forever. What should I see?
(more…)
Our membership at the local video store has just run out, and so we’re faced with a choice: renew the membership, or go to some kind of online video store. I feel caught in the Netflix vortex, but I’m resisting it. Here’s why.
Had Abbott and Costello ever done a comedy routine about rock n roll bands it they probably would have name-dropped Pete Townshend’s gang.
I’m not talking about annoying songs that get stuck in your head, although if you want to turn this into a torture fest, I’m game. I’m talking about song lyrics that resonated with you somehow, made an impression, had some impact, etc.
If you’re like me, you pull the dust jacket off Doctrines of Salvation and put it over the book you’re really reading, so everyone will think you’re a doctrinal giant. You look so engrossed that people think you are truly spiritual. Little do they know you’re reading Harry Potter. Fortunately for you, J. K. Rowling’s announced the release of the sixth book.
Typography might be the least appreciated of all the arts. We don’t often think about the fact that every little curve of every letter of every font you’ve ever used has been designed by someone. These used to be cast in a metal matrix (which is what Gutenberg really invented, he didn’t invent moveable type nor did he invent the printing press), and are now 1’s and 0’s passing through silicon (it’s software that can and shouldn’t be copied).
Part two of my posts on 80’s underground music, based loosely on the box set recently released, Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the 80’s Underground.
I know very little about art. Who are some of your favorite artists?
While shopping for a 6-year old I have adpoted as part of a Sub-for-Santa, I noticed that Toys ‘R Us is once again selling Cabbage Patch Dolls. Maybe they never really disappeared - I don’t know since I haven’t been toy shopping in quite some time. My gut reaction to the offending doll was "These things aren’t really making a comeback are they?" Then I thought to myself that maybe it’s not so bad. After all, from Cabbage Patch Dolls sprang forth the crude but funny in a scatalogical way Garbage Pail Kids collectible trading cards. Maybe, just maybe, the Garbage Pail Kids will make a comeback too. That will justify new buds from the patch in the dead of winter.
In the spirit of… I don’t know, entertainment, I would like to make a short list of my favorite commercials (and accompanying links if possible). These are by no means all inclusive. I personally am internally conflicted about advertising. I work in design and could easily be persuaded to work at an ad agency (they pay well and there is a lot of opportunity to do really creative work), but I have a hard time with the ethical part of selling stuff to people that they don’t need. But that is another post.
I find the ethics (actual legality aside) of downloading to be absolutely fascinating. I’m also saddened that downloading has essentially become synonymous with stealing.
Whether it’s bubble gum pop, country, heavy metal, punk, or folk, who doesn’t love cheese? Sci fi movies, tear jerkers, musicals, there must be something cheesy you’ll admit to loving.
Let’s face it — we’re a bunch of cheapskates. We’ll wait a week to see a movie just to use the discount coupons. So home theater was made for us. $17.99 of Netflix gives us all the movies we need.
All of us watch movies at home; however, not all of us have home theaters. For the sake of discussion, I’d like to throw out there a few ideas as to what the minimums are for an acceptable-sounding and looking home theater setup, and perhaps we can exchange some ideas on how to tweak our systems to make movie-watching more enjoyable at home. Here are my thoughts:
Okay, I’ll give it a shot on this LOTD thing. I hesitate to put this one up, but it’s incredibly funny. I just found it yesterday, and I hope it’s appropriate. I’m not sure if it’s put-up-on-a-public-website funny, or just laugh-your-ass-off-with-your-wife-in-the-privacy-of-your-own-home funny. You tell me:
Logan, you can’t fight the all-powerful Steve and his Admin powers. LOTD is MINE I say!! I’ll put up my LOTD in the comments.
I have nothing to say. (Oh yeah, except to remind everyone about the pretense of this list. I’m posting my highest ranked — not necessarily favorite — single from each year according to the list at Acclaimed Music.) Okay. Let’s get to the list:
This is what music critics have said of the bluegrass trio, Nickel Creek. I suppose the phrase for many would instead bring to mind the current huge crop of folksy singer-songwriters active in the indie scene, and there is a load of great talent among them. And I will probably write a feature some other day about some of my favorite singer-songwriters, but today I’m going to explain why Nickel Creek deserve this title.
I’ve added a new category to the sidebar: LOTD. No, not Lord of the Dance, but Link(s) of the Day. A chance to put up funny, interesting or bizarre things freshly uncovered along the information superhighway. I plan on posting every day (more or less) a link or two to make you scratch your head, and curse Al Gore for ever inventing the Internet.
Allow me to kick this off inauspiciously, with a few gems:
I noticed in another thread the mention of "Burning Down The House". Confession time: the Talking Heads were before my time, and I think the Cardigans remake is way better. Feel free to disagree. But if you do disagree, give me another example of a cover better than an original (if such a beast exists).
Wes Anderson’s latest, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, is — thankfully — a great movie. We’ve all been a little nervous: w
ould this be a weird, awkward mix of elements like The Royal Tenenbaums? Would it be funny, like Rushmore?
Let me get this out of the way: I rank it just below Rushmore, but above Royal Tenenbaums.
If you’re curious, you can read the rest of the review, but it’s superfluous.
"Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll" — Social Distortion’s first studio album in eight years — is rife with lyrical platitudes and musical clichés. I love it.
It helps that I’m a sucker for crunchy, fast guitar playing and gravel-voiced vocalists. Social D has long occupied this pure almost iconic space where punk, rockabilly and classic rock meet (a sort of punkier version of the Replacements, less bluesy version of the Rolling Stones), and although some find that space derivative, it totally works for me.
Oy, another list from me. Here are the Martin Scorsese-directed movies I own on DVD, in reverse chronological order:
Gangs of New York (2002)
Il mio viaggio in Italia (2001) documentary
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Cape Fear (1991)
Goodfellas (1990)
