Sunday, October 23, 2011

More Television


Boardwalk Empire
Another gem from HBO, Boardwalk is an amazing period piece with a well-constructed web of stories and scandals, a cast overflowing with talent, and aesthetic appeal for all you vintagephiles. It's just so detailed and well-executed that you feel like you're getting a genuine glimpse into the '20's and after a couple of episodes you feel like you've grasped the era's zeitgeist. It's essentially Mad Men when Don Draper was a baby. Blazed through the first season during my first week of school and now it's a drag waiting for new episodes, which is such a first world pain... Steve Buscemi (though whatever role he's in, I always picture the McMuffin bum from Big Daddy) and Michael Shannon are so good in this, I can't stand Paz de la Huerta or her character, and Michael K. Williams (pictured above) and Michael Pitt are such BAMFs (never have I uttered nor typed this word until now). Interestingly enough, Buscemi and Pitt starred together in a movie called Delirious back in '06, which is still in my queue of movies to watch.


Saw mock adverts for this shown during Childrens Hospital and was pleased to find out that it was an actual show. In the vein of Childrens, NTSF:SD:SUV:: (National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle::) (note the unnecessary double colon, ha!) is hilariously nonsensical, ridiculously over-the-top, runs 15 min, and lampoons a popular form of television drama (in this case, police procedurals, if you couldn't tell by the title...).




Nothing out of the ordinary, just an enjoyable buddy comedy akin to Happy Endings, amplified by Zooey's charm. A quirky, feel-good show to watch when you're bored and don't have anything else to watch on Tuesday. 


Yet another show with Paul Scheer. Haven't actually watched any of the episodes yet, but as I was skipping through the first episode, I got this^ screenshot of a guy smoking out of a unicorn's ass, admittedly awesome. It seems like a dude comedy where scene transitions are marked by generic electric guitar riffs, but I'm still willing to give it a full watch.


Same with The League, I plan to give it a watch whenever I feel like it. Heard very good things about it though and FX is usually on point with their shows (Wilfred, Louie, Always Sunny, Damages, c'mon now. Also heard great things about Sons of Anarchy and Archer. Fox provides such great entertainment but such a shitty news network, which I suppose can fall under entertainment.)


I echo what I said about American Horror Story, replacing FX with HBO. It'd be interesting to see a drama within a completely different setting, like Boardwalk, but by a higher measure.


Last, but certainly not least, a more-than-worthy member of my top 9 (Parks & Rec, Always Sunny, Chappelle's Show, Breaking Bad, Curb, An Idiot Abroad, South Park, Extras). I've been re-watching the series for a third time in preparation for the fourth season and movie (both confirmed, but I'm still a bit skeptical...). Nothing more to say about this one; you either recognize it as the greatest comedy sitcom ever or not (in which case, you probably watch The Big Bang Theory).

Playlist #20

1. Color Me Once by the Violent Femmes
2. Paparazzi by Xzibit
3. My Favorite Ladies (Equalibrum Remix) by MF Doom
4. They Walked in Line by Joy Division
5. Something Must Break by Joy Division
6. Little Joy (Entire album) by Little Joy (Another overall great album; somewhat a stripped-down version of The Strokes. Oh yeah and their drummer is The Strokes drummer.)
7. Wasted Time by ODB (You could never go wrong with sampling "The Stranger")
8. Together Forever by Run DMC (A black dude on a Harley was blaring this in Riverside the other day)
9. The Walk by Mayer Hawthorne
10. No Strings by Mayer Hawthorne
11. Make Some Noise by Beastie Boys
12. Conquest by The White Stripes
13. Bone Broke by The White Stripes
14. A Martyr For My Love For You by The White Stripes
15. Exogenesis: Symphony, Pt. 3: Redemption by Muse (Hardly a fan of Muse, but this song is well-structured and symphonic, and I'm just a sucker for piano.)
16. Damaged Goods by Gang of Four
17. Ether by Gang of Four
18. 5.45 by Gang of Four
19. In the Ditch by Gang of Four
20. The Cosmic Game (Entire album) by Thievery Corporation (I'm also a sucker for awesome basslines. Which is probably why my favorite playlist is titled "Sick basslines". "Warning Shots" is an excellent example of aforementioned "awesome basslines". Nothing too complex or difficult, but so fluid and potent.)
21. Are You In or Out? (Entire album) by The Growlers (I rarely find albums where every (or most) song earns a spot in my iPod, but I've been coming across gold mines these past two weeks, as well as revisiting some old ones.)
22. Sea Lion Goth Blues by The Growlers
23. Run by Charlyne Yi (Her music is surprisingly sincere and overall easy on the ears; an interesting contrast to her more known funny persona. Great tunes.)
24. Sketch for Summer by the Durutti Column
25. Collette by the Durutti Column
26. Falling and Laughing by Orange Juice

Monday, October 17, 2011

Playlist #19 and "Drive" mini-review

1. Territorial Pissings by Nirvana (Favorite song, drum-wise, off of the album. Grohl, you talented mothafucka...)
2. World of Her Own by The Wake
3. Plastic Flowers by The Wake (Stumbled upon 'em on Wikipedia yesterday, and they're pretty good. Essentially post-punk and new wave, a tad pop-py and with a hint of goth; clearly 80's.)
4. Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie and the Banshees
5. Arabian Knights by Siouxsie and the Banshees
6. Cities in Dust by Siouxsie and the Banshees
7. Candyman by Siouxsie and the Banshees
8. Love is a Void by Siouxsie and the Banshees
9. Christine by Siouxsie and the Banshees
10. Crystalline by Bjork (The song's ending is nuts...)
11. Leaders of Men by Joy Division
12. Dead Souls by Joy Division
13. Atmosphere by Joy Division
14. Closer (Entire album) by Joy Division (After some reassessment, I've decided that I prefer it over "Unknown Pleasures" (by a small margin). But "Disorder" will forever be my favorite track by them.)
15. Portamento (Entire album) by The Drums
16. The Message by Nas (Heard the Sting sample at the end of Leon The Professional and went straight to this track.)
17. Loaded (Entire album) by The Velvet Underground
18. Ocean by The Velvet Underground
19. What Goes On by The Velvet Underground
20. Under Your Spell by Desire
21. A Real Hero by College Ft. Electric Youth


The last two songs of the playlist are from Drive, so I thought that I'd take a brief moment to share my thoughts on the film. First of all, I watched the screener, so I might not have received the full, intended effect of the film (half of the score was recycled from The Social Network and 28 Weeks Later, among others), but I thought it was great nevertheless. From what I've observed, views on the movie were very polarizing and it's fairly understandable. I feel that those on the negative end were simply unaware of what kind of movie it would be and were unfamiliar with its indie stylings. The marketing is also partly to blame due to the misleading trailers which might have enticed viewers into expecting an action-packed, Fast and Furious type of flick, which it is far from. Others were probably just confused by the rave reviews and the rest can be accounted for by contrarianism. The concept of an isolated professional and his sentimental evolution (Leon, Gran Torino) has been explored time and time again, but Refn certainly delivers on the premise. The style that he brings to the table is utterly amazing, and coupled with the minimal dialogue and visual expressions, there is a reinforcement of tension and an amplification of sentiments. Refn also provides some well-executed escalation and when there is action, it's exhilarating and highly effective. Lastly, Drive further reinforces how fucking cool Ryan Gosling is. And speaking of which, Gosling does not disappoint, and delivers as always, as does Mulligan, Cranston (How fucking good was the "Breaking Bad" season finale?!), and Brooks. To each his own, but I prefer great performances, stylish aesthetics, and emotional potency over a clusterfuck of mindless action.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Playlist #18

1. Break My Body by the Pixies
2. Something Against You by the Pixies
3. I Wanna Be Adored by The Stone Roses
4. Here She Comes Now by The Velvet Underground
5. When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine
6. I Only Said by My Bloody Valentine
7. Bug by Wavves
8. Doin' the Cockroach by Modest Mouse
9. Day of the Lords by Joy Division
10. I Against I by Jedi Mind Tricks

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Playlist #17

Having had no internet at my new place, I'm 2 weeks behind with this. But no worries, my nonexistent readers, I'm back now.

1. Super Soaker by Wavves
2. Linus Spacehead by Wavves
3. Idiot by Wavves
4. Poor Lenore by Wavves
5. Nodding Off by Wavves Ft. Best Coast
6. Memories Can't Wait by Talking Heads
7. This Must Be the Place by Talking Heads
8. Kick Push (Lupe Fiasco)(Ghibli Remix) by Tokimonsta
9. Rotten Apple (Royal Flush)(Spoiled Remix) by Tokimonsta
10. Gamble by Tokimonsta
11. County Line by Cass McCombs
12. Caught a Long Wind by Feist
13. A Commotion by Feist
14. Get It Wrong, Get It Right by Feist
15. The National Anthem by Radiohead
16. The Daily Mail by Radiohead
17. Rock Bottom by Eminem
18. If I Had by Eminem
19. Debaser by Pixies
20. Alec Eiffel by Pixies
21. Hey by Pixies
22. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
23. Breathe by Pink Floyd