Monthly Listening Post - January

Welcome to an expanded monthly music feature. In addition to posting the newest releases that I'm listening to, I'll also get more into other music news as well as concert and expanded album reviews. So here it goes:

Coachella's lineup is out today (finally) and it's pretty much what I expected. There are plenty of solid acts in the supporting slots but as usual the headliners don't do much. Paul McCartney, The Killers, and The Cure don't make me want to go anymore than the quality of acts below them. Bonnaroo's announcement is Tuesday and the rumor mill is buzzing of two nights of Phish and Bruce Springsteen as headliners. I've never been much more than a casual fan of Phish and have seen them live (they're not bad) but I'm skittish about them at Bonnaroo. It's surely going to bring out the young fans who have never seen Phish before are going to come out, which in turn will bring out the drugs, and those who don't know how to handle themselves. I'm not against drugs, you can do 'em if you want, but I have no sympathy or patience for those who take more than they can handle. Still, if Springsteen is on the bill, it's an automatic go. And I hope some of those bands on the Coachella bill come to Tennessee in June.

The other big news for me in the music department is the Spring reunion tour for The Dead. A lot has been posted at Jambase among others complaining about the high ticket prices. It's the same old bitching and moaning by some in the "jam band" scene that if anything doesn't adhere to what some mythical standards are, they are labled corporate and a sellout. This has been a standard complaint of Bonnaroo, that they have sold out or gone MTV (which is complete BS) because they've moved beyond the base. This is reason number one why I've lost almost all my interest in that style of music, with The Dead the only real exception to that. The simple fact is that there is a demand for tickets. They have certainly earned the right to charge whatever they want. There are people willing to pay that price. I did. I was only fourteen when Jerry Garcia died, I never got to see the Grateful Dead live. This is the closest to that experience I could get. I will gladly pay the ticket price for that opportunity.

Enough with the ranting, here are the albums:

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound (Every year there is one album that I discover after posting my year-end list. This album, had I found it earlier, would have been a probably top ten album.)
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Bon Iver - Blood Bank Ep
Derek Trucks Band - Already Free

Useless Film Snob Version 3.0

I have mostly kept this site up as a way to write about film and other topics on a fairly regular basis. The lack of any consistent readership and continuing irrelevance of some review have made it difficult over time. I know this site exists solely for myself and even posting this is a egomaniacal act of some delusion (yeah everyone out there who doesn't come here, let me tell you what I'm going to do). Anyway, to sum things up, I've decided to head to grad school to get my MFA in creative writing. I am taking the time to get my non-blog writing up to a standard that I feel is of a level to be considered. This will be mean less posts and a revised form of operation here at the site. The new rules are as follows:

-I will no longer review every film I see. This will mean less reviews but hopefully the reviews I do decide to write will have a bit more focus and examination to them.

-I will try my best to review more films during their theatrical release. I've said this before but in a place like Binghamton, seeing what I want to see in a timely manner isn't always possible. I know the possibility of torrents are out there, but I can barely operate blogger let alone figure out and take the time to download torrents. Older films will still be covered, but only if I feel I have something significant to write about them.

-There will be more "bloggy" posts, for lack of a better word. These will be treatises, ramblings, and other personal views on film, music, and political issues. I never really wanted this site to boil down to personal ramblings all the time so I will try to have an intellectual argument to what I post.

Over the past few months, I have picked up thoughtful comments and feedback from people, which is greatly appreciated. Even if it is a small number, after years of toiling away for practically nothing, to have someone take the time to post a comment, I thank you.

Liebestraum

Liebestraum (Mike Figgis, 1991) [4]

Liebestraum is still the only major theatrical film to be filmed here in Binghamton, which is perhaps why the film is more a curiosity to me than anything else. It's hard to objectively review a film when you're picking apart each scene for every landmark and other signifiers of the town. I give Figgis credit for this at least: he's made a film that an overwhelming majority of people in Binghamton would be positively bored watching. All that said, this is a film where style definitely trumps story, a sort of neo-noir full of interesting shadows and light but bogged down by an all too predictable story with too many clunky scenes. An architecture writer (Kevin Anderson) comes to a small town to visit his ailing mother only to run into an old friend (Bill Pullman), planning to demolish a historic cast iron building (the crux of filming this in Binghamton was that we have one of the few cast iron exterior buildings left standing in the world). Nick, the writer, becomes embroidered in the standard noir role, thrust into extraordinary circumstances, falling into a relationship with his friend's wife (Pamela Gidley) and uncovering a murder mystery that happened in the building years earlier which is some how connected to him. The problem with the story is that it all comes together too neatly in the way you expect it to, with a resolution and ending that is all too obvious too early. A lot of scenes become bogged down in clunky dialogue and dream sequences that would only be considered avant-garde to those who never leave the multiplex. That all combined is probably too much for the film to overcome but Figgis certainly gets his lighting and shadows down pat for a noir. It's by far the most interesting aspect of the film but only in a few cases can style overshadow substance. It's also a little too slick and polished for me, missing the gritty, dirty look that I find engrossing about film noir.

Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2008) [5]

Every once in a while there is a Coen Brothers film that comes out and falls flat with me. Miller's Crossing had been the best example so far but Burn After Reading may take that title on the mantle. A Coen brothers version of a political thriller, its uneasy mix of humor and dark cynicism never really gel. The story focuses on two nit witted gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) who stumble across what they think is classified information of a CIA analyst (John Malkovich). Eventually the tangled web of failed espionage brings in the analyst's estranged wife (Tilda Swinton), her less than honest lover (George Clooney), and other assorted characters that could only come from a Coen Brothers film. A lot has been made how farcical the story and the characters are, and how much contempt the Coens seem to have for them. Of course it's meant to be a farce and the characters bordering on screwball. I don't find that the problem; unlike some of their other films, there's nothing in these characters that are that memorable or endearing to make them believable. The Big Lebowski may be just as frivolous and messy as this film but it had characters and situations that transcend the simple machinations of its story. This film has some funny moments but it never comes close to making an impact. And unlike the tightly constructed chaos of No Country for Old Men, this feels too loose and cluttered with too many ideas that never gel. The funniest moments may be between the two CIA higher-ups trying to decipher the situation and come to the same realization as the viewers: that we really have no idea what all that just happened meant.

Berkeley in the Sixties

Berkeley in the Sixties (Mark Kitchell, 1990) [6]

While it may be well-researched and informative of a certain era, Berkeley in the Sixties smacks of so much self-centered smugness that it's hard for anyone to really appreciate what these people did. And this is from someone who while not born till much later, has a strong affinity for the political and social ideas of the 1960s counterculture. The interview subjects range from pragmatic and critical to those who are blowing hyper-inflated nostalgia out of their asses. It's these type of people that make others think of baby boomers as self-absorbed and entitled. That shouldn't cloud the fact that what went on at Cal in the 1960s is important in American history. There's no denying that Berkeley was one of the main hubs of radical and countercultural activity in the 60s but there were plenty of other universities that cultivated the same movements and ideas. Yet some of those interviewed take the view that what they were doing in Berkeley is somehow more special than what was happening at other places. For all its pomposity, the film still does a good job of explaining the origins of what became the student movement and how the anti HUAC and Free Speech movements at Berkeley were catalysts for greater things throughout the decade. What did occur at Berkeley offers a nice little window into the greater issue of what the counterculture and student movement wanted and what little they gained. The one thing that can be said about the people involved is at least they felt it was important enough to become engaged, something that is all too lacking in young people today (myself partially included).

Man on Wire

Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008) [7]

Man on Wire has everything needed to make an entertaining documentary: an eccentric central character, a dazzling achievement that is rife with issues that could derail it, and an execution that heightens the tension and wonder of the event. Philippe Petit's achievement, tightrope walking across the two towers of the World Trade center in 1974, was an amazing accomplishment and something that recent events have made it resonate even more. Where the film succeeds is giving an in-depth analysis of how and why Petit did what he did. The behind the scenes action leading up to the event are just as interesting and filled with tension as the actual walk. It certainly helps that Petit explains everything with an impish enthusiasm that can't help but come through to the viewer. It's an awe-inspiring achievement and something for which a film should capture to explain for history's sake. It's that sheer interest in Petit and why he did what he did that hide a few formal flaws in the film. The re-enactments of certain scenes never really integrate fully into the archival footage of the film; they feel too much like set pieces, scenes that stick out too much from the rest. Marsh gives us plenty of reasons why Petit walked between the towers and some how but not the main 'how': where does Petit get the time and money to be able to accomplish the feat? The very idea of it is never mentioned and the glossing over of the entire subject raises more questions than any other aspect of it. It's creates this notion that there's something of Petit's character that he is shielding from the film. All we ever get of his background is he's a street acrobat/magician. By leaving this information out, it feels like Marsh and Petit don't want us to know something that would tarnish this accomplishment. But it's the spectre of this accomplishment that make Man on Wire a film that is difficult not to be engrossed by.

Buffalo Bill and the Indians

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (Robert Altman, 1976) [7]

Deconstructionist is a word always thrown around with Altman, and Buffalo Bill is no exception. Instead of genre or form deconstruction, this film is more intent on attacking history itself, and the grand myths perpetuated in the name of this nation. Everything of this film smacks of the idea of myth making, all the way down to the character of Buffalo Bill himself, a creation of a mysterious myth-maker (played with zeal by Burt Lancaster, always one of my favorites). Altman centers his film around the show that Bill has created, a series of skits and performances meant to portray a grandiose America that has the best interests of everyone in mind, including the Indians on whose land they raided and took. It's these ideas of the mythical west, perpetuated fully in Westerns as well as the character of Buffalo Bill himself that Altman is going after. Paul Newman plays Buffalo Bill as nothing more than an arrogant charlatan, a creation meant to feed the American public, to give them an ideal character of the west. Altman pulls the veil of the sanctity of Buffalo Bill, and Newman plays him as a man who knows he's nothing but a creation of show business. The conflict of these ideas come to a head when Bill's company is able to convince Chief Sitting Bull to be a part of the show. This leads to a series of events where Sitting Bull consistently outwits Bill and the others as a way to regain some dignity for his people. One of the major elements of the legend of Buffalo Bill was his prowess as an Indian killer and subjugator. By having him be such a buffoon compared to Sitting Bull, Altman has created scenarios where the power of the character of Buffalo Bill is dragged out of its historical lacquer. Buffalo Bill certainly is a film that sides sympathizes with the Indians and is dark and cynical in its portrayal of whites as opportunistic, boorish, and presumptuous of their different brethren. It's possibly the meanest, most jaded film Altman could have made on the subject. Yet, it works because it's at least willing to take on the legends and myths of the American west with some earnestness.

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2008) [6]

Tropic Thunder certainly has a firm grasp on its targets. But can a movie that skewers big budget Hollywood event pictures have any venom when it's exactly the same type of film that it's meant to ridicule? Some could say that by making a big budget film full of explosions and exotic locales you can't bite the hand that feeds you but the truth is, no matter how Stiller can take shots at studios and actors, it's the same system that's been good and currently employs him. Yes the film is right on in its portrayal of its actors from the dim-bulb action star played by Stiller to the Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. characters but these are pretty obvious targets. The film uses the characters and their situation for laughs but it never has the feeling of being mean or harshly critical, mostly because Stiller will have to work with people like this again. The funniest moments of the film are the ones that dig a little deeper at the whole system, from the "full retard" hypothesis and the faux trailers at the start of the film. The rest of the film is a fairly forgettable story with an ending that I can't decide if it's meant to be that fully over the top or not. It may be meant to be taken satirically but there's something in the execution that don't make it feel so. Downey and Tom Cruise have gotten a lot of attention for their performances but it's Stiller's character that is the most fully formed in terms of its ridicule and vain actorly excesses. It certainly gives off the most laughs. Cruise, just as he almost did in Magnolia, almost single-handily submarines a film by playing a profane Tom Cruise character, only this time he's bald, portly and hairy. If that's the best Tropic Thunder can do, it's not bad but let's not all forget it still is a product of the same system it wants to mock.

Paranoid Park

Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2008) [6]

What keeps Paranoid Park interesting is that Van Sant uses images and his meandering narrative to keep everything from being too formulaic. My main problem is that I have a pre-disposition to not give a rat's ass about a character like Alex. It's not that his character is flat or self-absorbed; in fact, the film Van Sant crafts around him actually does a good job of getting inside his mind. It's just the world that Alex occupies, that of skate parks and typical teenage dialogue, is nothing that I have much interest in. It is to Van Sant's credit that he' created a realistic picture about teenagers, and the series of events that Alex takes on feel real and earned by his character. He was involved in the accidental death of a person and he has to grapple with all the emotional baggage that comes with a event like that. The film's structure, capturing moments and thoughts more than straight narrative, work in the context of examining it the way Alex would. There certainly images and songs that leave a strong impact in my mind. Yet, for whatever reason, none of this helps me get over this feeling that I don't really care about Alex, the people around him, or what's going to happen to him. For all its achievement in craft, there's something lurking inside Paranoid Park that makes me want to cast it off.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) [7]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here fanboys; yes, The Dark Knight is an enjoyable movie but is it really a great work of cinema? My gut tells me no, but still, it is about as good as you could ask for in a superhero summer blockbuster. Just because a summer blockbuster has a storyline with intelligence and is not solely filled with explosions and ridiculous dialogue does not make it a masterpiece. The film definitely goes deeper than its CGI exterior and attempts to have a dialogue with bigger issue but after all, it's just a comic book movie. If that's harsh, I really don't mean it to be; that's just the way I feel about this type of movie. Unless the Watchmen film can prove me wrong.

As for the film itself, Nolan certainly provides the story and characters with a richness and depth that has been sorely lacking from a film of this type (I haven't seen Batman Begins, so maybe I'm a little behind in the rejuvenation of the Batman franchise). The story deals with more moral ambiguities and gray areas than others. Yes, Heath Ledger's performance is mesmerizing, mostly because it's completely unexpected in the context of Jack Nicholson's Joker. It all works and makes an entertaining film, but still, by playing to the masses, it makes a lot of concessions. All of the important moral ideals being wrestled with are blatantly explained throughout, most notably where Alfred has to explain to Batman and everyone just what the Joker entails. The average, mouth breathing multiplex goer may need this explained to them but I find it a big detriment. Christian Bale as Batman is there simply to exist, to play off Ledger's Joker, as Ledger takes his character to the edge while Bale has no choice but to be restrained in contrast. I've greatly admired Nolan as a filmmaker but here he has earned the capital to take a big risk in a shallow genre and while he does some admirable things, he still plays it too close to the book. The Dark Knight is infinitely better than most films of its ilk and since it does do more than explode and look good, critics have fawned over it. It's certainly entertaining but does it stack up in terms of craft and emotional payoff as Hou's film that I just reviewed. Not really.

Flight of the Red Balloon

Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsai-hsien, 2008) [8]

Flight of the Red Balloon is the type of the film that requires patience. You have to sit back and take it all in, as the film never offers a big payoff but is instead a series of exquisite scenes and shots that resonate far after the viewing is done. Even now after a few days, my appreciation for this film continues to grow. At what first seemed to be a slow, uneventful film turns out to be an exceptionally lyrical examination of childhood and its experiences.

I haven't had any exposure to Hou's films or the famed Albert Lamoriss original, The Red Balloon, which has become almost a cliche for "French film." Hous is obviously paying reverence for the original but is also going in his own way. Hou keeps the film firmly rooted in reality, as most of it is a close examination of a boy named Simon and his family, a frantic puppeteer mother played wonderfully by Juliette Binoche, as well as his Chinese nanny and film student, Song. Hou uses said red balloon as a formal element, hovering above Simon the same way the film hovers over everything, taking all the actions of these characters in, examining but never judging them. It just exists there, much the same way the film does, capturing the harried exasperation of Binoche's character, Simon's piano lessons and video games, and the cramped, cluttered spaces they occupy. Hou creates meticulous and supremely crafted images, ones that are a reflection of Simon's loneliness and other emotions. The character's situations are explored but are never solved, much the way the balloon could never solve these issues, at the expense of having a tidy resolution. Hou has created a world that is downbeat but still exceptionally profound and moving in its own understated way. Flight of the Red Balloon is a film that takes its time and in doing that, creates something immensely beautiful in its simple features.

Useless Film Snob's Best Music of 2008

2008 was and up and down year for music. A rash of quality releases at the beginning and end of the year bookended a year that had more than enough quality albums. Cutting the list down to even 40 was harder than I thought it would have been. A good majority of the list are artists that have been on previous lists as well as some high performing newcomers. When you have so many artists that you already have an interest in, to find something new always takes more time and effort. 2008 was also the first year in the last five that I didn't attend Bonnaroo or many other major concerts, so these albums are what kept music alive for 2008:

40) Duffy - Rockferry
An album where a few standout blue eyed soul tracks make it worthwhile. Probably the most commercially viable album on the list.
Choice tracks: 'Warwick Avenue', 'Syrup and Honey'
39) Of Montreal - Skeletel Lamping
Sprawling electrofunk indie dance pop that once again sticks out on this list.
Choice tracks: 'An Eluardian Instance', 'St. Exquisite's Confessions'
38) Rachael Yamagata - Elephants....Teeth Sinking Into Heart
It's been quite a few years since Yamagata's debut, and here working with Mike Mogis, creates a set of more atmospheric songs.
Choice tracks: 'Duet', 'Don't'
37) The Broken West - Now or Heaven
This L.A. group's second album is solid but doesn't have near the excitement as last year's debut.
Choice tracks: 'Auctioneer', 'House of Lies'
36) Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher
Big Iron World, which was somehow inexplicably left of my '06 list, is tough to live up to. Tennessee Pusher isn't as good start to finish but it continues to showcase's this bands reinterpretation of bluegrass and traditional folk music.
Choice tracks: 'The Greatest Hustler of All', 'Caroline'
35) Loudon Wainwright III - Recovery
Re-recording tracks from his 70s material, Wainwright offers new insight to a good number of tracks that an older voice bring more meaning.
Choice tracks: 'Motel Blues', 'New Paint'
34) The Moondoggies - Don't Be a Stranger
The last couple of years have seen Seattle become a hotbed of roots and folk influenced bands that seems odd for a place associated with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. This debut is steeped in the Americana like that of The Band.
Choice tracks: 'Ain't No Lord', 'I Want You to Know'
33) Beach House - Devotion
Lush, dreamlike songs by this Baltimore duo.
Choice tracks: 'Turtle Island', 'D.A.R.L.I.N.G.'
32) Old 97s - Blame It on Gravity
The first albums from Rhett Miller & company in a few years throws all their influences together: country, power pop, even some surf music into a welcome return.
Choice tracks: 'My Two Feet', 'Here's to the Halcyon'
31) Marah - Angels of Destruction
The last hurrah of the best lineup Marah ever had, this album has the most polish of any studio record the band has ever released.
Choice tracks: 'Santos De Madera', 'Angels of Destruction'
30) Sun Kil Moon - April
Another album of somber acoustic songs and Crazy Horse like guitar tracks, all with Mark Kozelek's haunting voice.
Choice tracks: 'The Light', 'Like the River'
29) The Black Keys - Attack and Release
In '06, I said you always know what to expect out of a Black Keys album. Working with Danger Mouse, the band has definitely expanded their sound, but is it bad that I my favorites tracks are the ones that sound like the old Black Keys?
Choice tracks: 'I Got Mine', 'Strange Times'
28) Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
Foul-mouthed when she's rocking, lyrical when she quiets it down, Edwards has definitely matured beyond being a Lucinda Williams acolyte.
Choice tracks: 'The Cheapest Key', 'I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory'
27) The Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine
An album where you could debate the exact release, but it's 2008 for my records. Blending 60's influences like the Kinks and Buffalo Springfield, this is a enjoyable retro sounding record (which isn't bad). 'People Turn Around' is second choice for choice track of the year.
Choice tracks: 'House Built For Two', 'People Turn Around'
26) The Dodos - Visiter
Another band taking folk stylings and twisting and using it in ways that don't make it seem like copying.
Choice tracks: 'Walking', 'Fools'
25) Ray Lamontagne - Gossip In the Grain
For me, it's going to be nearly impossible for Lamontagne to surpass Trouble. That being said, this album benefits by not being nearly as dour as his last release.
Choice tracks: 'You Are the Best Thing', 'Gossip In the Grain'
24) Sigur Ros - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
One of the biggest disappointments for me was not being able to see Sigur Ros late night at Bonnaroo in person. Of what I've heard, this album had some of the more melodic tracks from the band.
Choice tracks: 'Vid spilum endalaust', 'Festival'
23) Conor Oberst - S/T
Oberst looses some of the earnest emo-ness that Bright Eyes can sink into and instead makes a loose, fun, rocking album.
Choice tracks: 'Get Well Cards', 'Souled Out!'
22) Bonnie "Prince Billy - Lie Down In the Light
A bit more light lyrically, a bit more upbeat musically, this is the type of album that I prefer of out Will Oldham.
Choice tracks: 'Easy Does It', 'So Everyone'
21) The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
This was bound to be letdown record of the year. It's not bad, it's just that it never compares to how great a record Boys and Girls in America was.
Choice cuts: 'Sequestered in Memphis', 'Lord I'm Discouraged'
20) The Whigs - Mission Control
Catchy hooks makes the difference in power pop bands. While The Whigs may bit a bit more muscular than power pop, there's no denying their skills in crafting interesting songs.
Choice tracks: 'Right Hand on my Heart', 'Hot Bed'
19) She & Him - Volume One
Sweet pop songs by Zooey Deschanel with help from M.Ward that run back to 60s pop and Phil Spector.
Choice tracks: 'Change is Hard','Sweet Darlin''
18) Howlin' Rain - Magnificent Fiend
More psychedelic back porch music from Ethan Miller's Comets on Fire side project. Not nearly as revelatory exciting as their debut (No.1 in '06) but right up my alley.
Choice tracks: 'Dancers at the End of Time', 'Lord Have Mercy'
17) Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology
Rooted more firmly in classic rock than any Adams since Gold, Cardinology never sounds like its copying its influences but instead creating a defining sound for the Cardinals.
Choice tracks: 'Born Into a Light', Let Us Down Easy'
16) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Another album that could be 2007 or 2008 but it's wider availability was this year. Haunting, captivating songs that sound like they came straight out the Wisconsin winter.
Choice tracks: 'Skinny Love', 'The Wolves (Act I and II)'
15) The Felice Brothers - S/T
More shaggy Americana for my Upstate brethren, even if they still are downstate from me. More deftly produced but still with the ragged charms that made their debut so interesting.
Choice tracks: 'Greatest Show on Earth', 'Radio Song'
14) Gary Louris - Vagabonds
Being a big Jayhawks fan, I'm also a big fan of Louris's first solo album, which was produced by Chris Robinson. In fact, it doesn't sound much different than a Jayhawks album, which is a good thing if you're me or a bad thing, depending on who you are.
Choice tracks: 'Omaha Nights', 'Vagabonds'
13) Dr. Dog - Fate
The late blooming record of the year, I was a bit ambivalent about this record until giving it some more listens. The band has sharpened their songwriting greatly since last year's We All Belong and are now becoming one of my favorites.
Choice tracks: 'The Old Days', 'The Rabbit, the Bat, and the Reindeer'
12) Jamie Lidell - Jim
Lidell ditches most of his electronic bells and whistles and comes up with a straight-up blue eyed soul record with a ton of retro charm.
Choice tracks: 'Another Day', 'Wait For Me'
11) Brighblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin
To some, this album might sound like one big, slow song. But if you listen more closely, there are tiny moments, whether the R&B influenced backing vocals and horns, or the atmospheric soundscapes that really are impressive considering how the record was recorded.
Choice tracks: 'Oppressions Each', 'Past a Weatherbeaten Fencepost'
10) The Black Crowes - Warpaint
Say what you want about the Black Crowes, they still are one of my favorite bands and Warpaint is their best album since Amorica. The first three songs on the album are perhaps the best the Crowes have ever written.
Choice tracks: 'Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution', 'Oh Josephine'
9) My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
The positives far outnumber any negatives that are on this album. In fact, I find 'Highly Suspicious' to be kind of catchy. But the songs that sound like classic MMJ are the best ones on the album.
Choice tracks: 'I'm Amazed', 'Aluminum Park'
8) Hayes Carll - Trouble In Mind
In the tradition of smart-asses like John Prine and Todd Snider, Hayes Carll would fit right in. It's a testament to how shitty country music is now that something like this is considered too alternative. Carll's songwriting can switch from satirical to poignant in the blink of an eye.
Choice tracks: 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up', 'She Left Me For Jesus'
7) Horse Feathers - House With No Home
Considered the best discovery of the year, Horse Feathers are another band taking folk stylings and doing something unique. And once again, no surprise they come out of the Pacific Northwest.
Choice tracks: 'Working Poor', 'Different Gray'
6) Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Lewis continues to explore country and soul territory in her solo work even though Acid Tongue has a more 70s Southern California feel to it. 'Acid Tongue' is my choice for choice track of the year.
Choice tracks: 'Acid Tongue', 'Jack Killed Mom'
5) The Walkmen - You & Me
The ragged vocals, the echo laden guitar sound, the dynamic changes. The Walkmen definitely have a unique sound and You & Me showcases a band getting better with each album.

Choice tracks: 'Postcards From Tiny Islands', 'Red Moon'

4) Fleet Foxes - S/T

The favorite of every hipster blog on the Internet seemingly, Fleet Foxes are another band out of Seattle with folk leanings. The harmony drenched vocals are the key on just about every song as the band creates something that just isn't heard that much anymore.

Choice tracks: 'He Doesn't Know Why', 'Your Protector'

3) Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Since I spent a month or so living in Portland, I feel I have a affinity for the eclectic music scene there. There may be no more eclectic band out there right now than Blitzen Trapper. Furr is another mash-up of varying styles but the band find its footing when it sounds most like a Grateful Dead/Flaming Lips mash up.

Choice tracks: 'Furr', 'War on Machines'

2) Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

Okkervil River were last year's sleeper, with the Stage Names rising steadily into my top five. The Stand Ins operates like a sequel, showing the same strong songwriting and musicianship that made me appreciate The Stage names so much.

Choice tracks: 'Singer Songwriter', 'On Tour with Zykos'

1) Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Speaking of sequels, Brighter Than Creation's Dark could pass as a sequel to The Dirty South (no. 2 in '05). The Truckers return to the exceptional form of that album, even without Jason Isbell. Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley return to writing stellar songs that could pose as short stories. Shonna Tucker's songs are solid and the addition of Spooner Oldham on keys add a dimension on certain songs that are a welcome addition. Even at 19 songs, there aren't many throwaways. When the Truckers are on top of their game, as they are here, there's hardly a group out there that can top them. And that's why Brighter Than Creation's Dark is my pick for the best album of 2008.

Choice tracks: 'The Righteous Path', 'Bob'

Step Brothers

Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008) [7]

Step Brothers is juvenile, slight, crude, and ridiculous. It also happens to be consistently hilarious which is all you can ask for of a comedy. In my previous reviews of other Will Ferrell comedies, I've state that the best moments of those films are the totally random, improvisational moments. This film is really nothing more than a collection of loose moments, only very loosely being tied together with some semblance of a plot. Ferrell and John C. Rielly play two thritysomethings with the emotional maturation of ten year olds. The two still live with their parents and when those two get married, the pair are forced to move in together and you get the title. Anything plotwise that occurs is playing second fiddle to Ferrell and Rielly playing foul-mouthed, immature man children to hilarious effect. There are numerous funny scenes but the best involve certain body parts on a drum set and a slow-mo karate montage in a garage with Hall & Oates on the soundtrack. The film may be stupid, crude, and dumb but comedies can play by different rules than drama. Story and character can take a back seat and laughs can cover up for any deficiencies in those areas. Step Brothers does that because it continually pushes the edge of actually being a film and not a collection of improv moments. It's something I've always wanted to see more of in Ferrell's comedies and finally, and when finally executed, it works they way I thought it would. Also, unlike all the other Apatow man-child movies of recent years, it has none of the borderline sappy, humanizing moments that I've always been ambivalent about. Brennan and Dale are just ridiculous, extreme characters, and when accepted at face value, Step Brothers consistently brings the funny moments.

When accessing the reviews of this film at metacritic, the top two reviews were from Kyle Smith of the New York Post and Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post. I only say this because I think these two are the worst film critics in the country and I'm almost repulsed that I would agree with them on this, especially since a lot of the reviews are lukewarm to negative. It really doesn't say that much other than I hope this film is an outlier and that I would have the same tastes as these hacks.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, 1985) [6]

Seeing this some years ago, I thought the new Criterion treatment was worth another viewing. While it may be expertly crafted, there's something about Schrader's style and execution that is a little too calculating. It also doesn't help that Yukio Mishima is an unlikable personality to me personally. For those unfamiliar, Mishima is perhaps Japan's more notable writer and someone who became a well-known cultural figure in Japan before committing ritual suicide in the early 70s. But Mishima was also a reactionary with ideas rooted in Imperial Japanese tradition that don't agree and are foreign to me. Schrader tries to get the audience to understand Mishima's ideas by breaking the film into chapters, highlighting key ideas of his work such as art as beauty and the harmony of pen and sword. The film is further deconstructed into three areas: Mishima's biography, the present-day actions occuring on the day of his suicide, and performances of his work. For me, the film performances are the expert part of the film, done in vibrant technicolor and avant-garde sets. Everything about Mishima and his ideas can be derived from these works: his ideas on the body and beauty, nationalism, and this idea of the harmony of pen and sword, of using his writings as a weapon to reclaim the ideals of the Samurai and Imperial Japan. Outside of these sequences, the rest of the film is fairly uninteresting to me and only goes to further my dislike Mishima the man, who was just as concerned with his media image as his status as a literary figure. While his writings may have some power and craft, as the film clearly shows, there's no denying he was a polarizing figure. Schrader attempts to come to a deeper understanding in the film and while some may get it, I never really can fully accept all of its parts.

The Promotion

The Promotion (Steve Conrad, 2008) [5]

Conrad gets some points for his story and the portrayal of its characters but The Promotion just isn't consistently funny enough to recommend. The film snakes its way between sly humor, broader slapstick and tender, humanizing moments that never seem to give the viewer or the film a foot to stand on. Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly play two men vying for a managerial post of a new supermarket opening. Scott is the uptight assistant manager who appears to be a shoe-in for the post until Reilly's character, playing a Canadian interloper shows up. A series of hi jinks ensue which get increasingly competitive and play the two directly against each other. These are characters that work because Conrad has a keen sense of observation and is never patronizing towards them. Both Scott and Reilly's characters are people with flaws but the film never uses them to be laughed at. One of the films stronger suits is that Conrad recognizes that these guys are in pretty thankless jobs in a stale, restrictive corporate culture where the acts of sabotage they commit are a form of release from the constant drudgery of their lives. Reilly's character is a recovering addict now addicted to self-help tapes but instead of laughing at his glibness, you end up sympathizing with him. Scott's character is the more unlikable of the two but still, the film does enough for you to recognize why he's doing the things he does. The flaw in the system comes from the all over the map nature of the film. Conrad creates characters and a story so enmeshed in an unfunny corporate world that it's hard to really make this a comedy. As someone who has had experience in the retail world, they're not exactly the best jobs in the world. If the film was just broad slapstick humor, it might have worked better because it doesn't bring up all the rotten elements of working in the service sector. The problem may be that since the characters and their world are all too bleakly real, a lot of the humor gets sucked out of the picture. As a comedy, The Promotion doesn't quite cut, or if you're Canadian, crack it.

Last Listening Post of 2008

This is the last listening post of 2008 before I'll assemble my list of the best music of the year, which usually results in this site's biggest spike in traffic. This all in turn makes me feel like I'm not really wasting my time posting clunky, poorly executed film reviews. As for a best of film list, I am never able to see enough new releases within a current enough window to have a top ten list that has all the films I want to see or feel should be seen before compiling it. I've said it before and I'll repeat it here, 2008 looks to be one of the worst years for quality releases in some time. There have been hardly any really strong films of the ones I've seen and the slate of films upcoming is at best underwhelming. After what was really a banner year in 2007, 2008 will be the worst film year of the decade. Enough venting and on to the albums:

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology
Horse Feathers - House with No Home
Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher
The Moondoggies - Don't Be a Stranger
Of Montreal- Skeletel Lamping (which one of these is not like the other?)

Salo

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) [6]

I've seen quite a few "unwatchable" films in my viewing experiences but Salo has to be right up there in terms of a continuous stream of shocking and disturbing scenes and images. It isn't quite as shocking to me as it may be to others but there's no doubt that what's in this film is extreme. But should Pasolini get credit for making a great film because his film deals with rape, torture, and murder? I really don't think so.

Based on a work by the Marquis de Sade, Salo is about a group of Italian fascists who, during the waining days of WWII, take a group of young boys and girls to a secluded villa to do Sadist things to and eventually murder them. The title is also a reference to the city-kingdom Hitler granted Mussolini in northern Italy after his government in Rome collapsed. At the villa, old prostitutes sell sexually extreme stories to get the men aroused. Over the course of many days, the men subject their young victims to an increasingly humiliating series of acts that include cacophilia and ultimately the murder of all the victims. Pasolini uses these acts to remark on the role of sex and power, and directly in regards to corrupting influence of power in Fascism. Pasolini uses that argument as his rationale to show what he shows but I don't quite buy the extent to which he goes. These ideas of Fascism and power aren't that strong in my mind and what the film is left with is a variety of scenes meant to make the viewer uncomfortable.

Where the film does succeed is beyond its content or its message. It has more to do with its execution. There is a dark humor running underneath all the sadism, which creates a tension within the viewer. Taken in context of what is on the screen, it's hard to acknowledge that it goes beyond mere shock. But the film's greatest strength is the awareness it creates in the viewer as an observer of these acts. The film is shot in static shots, at mostly medium to long shots with very few close ups. This creates an idea of "the gaze", the viewer becoming as much as an observer as the camera. It creates a self-reflexive notion in the viewer, and it creates a questioning of whether you should actually be watching this. There's no doubt that Pasolini understands these ideas because the ending is a direct representation of this. As the young girls and boys are being tortured in the courtyard, the men each take turns watching out a window through binoculars. It becomes a direct correlation between the viewer and these characters. Salo is meant for the viewer to examine his or her own feeling towards and it does this by making them aware of how uncomfortable they feel by creating this idea of the gaze. The only other film I've seen that's been close to creating this sense of uncomfortable self-awareness is Dyn Amo, a hard to find British film by Stephen Dwoskin. (This entirely paragraph is heavily influenced by a class I took called 'The Gaze Reconsidered' which dealt heavily with Freud and his notion of the gaze as it applied towards film) These elements in regards to Salo make it a constructive viewing experience, even if some of the subject matter and ideas weren't to my liking.

Reservation Road

Reservation Road (Terry George, 2008) [3]

Do we need another film about upper middle class white people and a shattering event that has repercussions for everyone involved? I really don't think so and after seeing Reservation Road, I don't think I want to see one for quite a while. A too overtly mechanical film with listless performances and a turgid storyline create a film that's simply bad. The film centers around a tragic accident and the subsequent effects on the family that lost a son as well as the perpetrator of the accident. George and screenwriter John Burnham Schwartz (who also wrote the novel the film is based on) want to tell a story that focuses on Dwight (Mark Ruffalo), the perpetrator, as an essentially good and trying father who made a bad mistake and is haunted for it. It's meant to put him on the same level as the father of the dead boy (Joaquin Phoenix). The problem is that the film is too heavy-handed in attempting to make them equals. It creates performances out of Ruffalo and Phoenix that are at times ridiculous and other times almost laughable. The mechanics of the story are clunky and ineffective almost directly from the start, making the Learner family picture perfect and showing the flaws in Dwight's family life. Then we get the contrivance of the accident, using a dead child as a means to spurt out a storyline with themes done to death with other films not much better in their mediocrity. More and more contrivances help put the two men on a collision course that never comes to anything satisfying thematically or plot wise. Having never been impressed with George as a director, it comes as no surprise that he can't even get this story off the ground. All in all, Reservation Road never hits any of the marks it wants to and gives me another reason to grow tired of this type of film.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Wristcutters: A Love Story (Goran Dukic, 2007) [5]

This is a harmless film, fairly boring, that's forgotten the moment its over. Wristcutters is part romantic comedy, part whimsical fantasy, and part road movie and said parts never really form into anything that coherent or interesting. After committing suicide, Zia (Patrick Fugit) ends up in a kind of suicide purgatory, a world similar to reality, only everything is supposedly worse. The only problem with this is that the film never really shows this. It's just like a washed out looking reality with decrepit buildings and lots of power lines. Zia soon finds out that his girlfriend also offed herself and the film turns into a search for her as Zia and his friend Eugene drive across the barren afterlife searching for her. They meet a variety of characters, including Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), claiming to be wrongfully sent there, and Tom Waits in an obtuse, bizarre performance that must have appealed to only Tom Waits. The film moves down parallel tracks, a romantic comedy between Zia and Mikal, and a whimsical fantasy about a dark subject. The problem is that Dukic never finds an effective way to combine the two. The film often shifts in and out of each subject until it reaches a point that it comes out as a muddle jumble that's never very interesting. Some occurrences go on, things are never really explained that much, and the ending is to be expected. Wristcutters is another good example of an interesting premise being undermined by a clunky execution. That's not to say I hated this; I didn't, it's just that it does nothing to make it stick in my mind.

The Good Life

The Good Life (Stephen Berra, 2008) [8]

Berra's debut feature is surprisingly good, mostly because it's completely uncompromising in its downbeat nature. That bleak outlook is sure to be a major turn off to many but hey, the world isn't always sunshine and lollipops. Jason (Mark Webber) is an outsider in a football crazed Nebraska town, working two jobs to support his family as well as being a caretaker to a mentally deteriorating theatre owner (Harry Dean Stanton). He meets a young ingenue (Zooey Deaschanel), the two become partners in alienation, and Jason dreams of leaving his miserable existence. The story doesn't have much that hasn't been done before but the film works because the characters are believable and accurate to their situations. Webber and Deschanel fit well together as two misfits brought together by their mutual apathy. Even the supporting performances, especially Donal Logue as the football mad, meat head brother-in-law, help reinforce Jason's feelings and situations. Events progress and get worse for Jason until he has to make an ultimate choice. I won't give away the ending but it's the only element of the film that doesn't fit in my opinion, mostly because of it shift in mood. But besides that, this really was a surprise. The story and look of the film match and are consistent throughout. Berra creates a clever little sub story and twist involving the Deschanel character that is revealed at the right moment. Maybe it's because of its bleak nature but this film is being compared with Donnie Darko, to which I have to disagree with. Darko is so wrapped up in its ironic, fantasy tinged world to be take literally. The Good Life is all too real, and that hits too close to home for those who aren't going to like it. It's that attention to the characters and their problems that create a solid film.

Plus: the film had no real commercial release date, so for my purposes, it will be considered a 2008 release. And from what this year has already produced and seeing what's yet to come, The Good Life is a strong contender for my best of '08 list.