Nonsense in extensia

Remember 2008?

2009-01-25T15:28:00.000-05:00

I do, too, despite my best efforts. (Kidding.) It was a strange year. Anyway, here are my favorite albums from a pretty solid year for music (and a mostly atrocious one for the cinemaplex).

10. Spiritualized: Songs in A&E

I've never been a drug addict, but this album makes it sound, uh, unpleasant. But also: rockin'.

9. King Khan & the Shrines: The Supreme Genius Of

The title pretty much says it all. I'll admit that it wasn't the record itself that I loved, though I liked it. But really, I was just happy to discover this guy—"Waddlin' Around" is the best song in its genre (songs about waddlin'), and he puts on a hell of a live show. See below.

8. Santogold: s/t

Sure, she is to M.I.A. what jarred salsa is to the fresh stuff. But sometimes you need jarred salsa, like when you're looking for something hooky to put on a party playlist (or whatever). The point is, this is a hell of a debut, and is dynamic enough to suggest she could churn out anything—seductive New Order-style synth jams ("Lights Out"), wacky cut-and-paste funk ("Starstruck"), or, you know, something else.

7. Jenny Lewis: Acid Tongue

The more I listened, the more I liked, and it's hard to explain why. I think it's the refreshing lack of pretense, even in eight-minute medley-rific jams like "The Next Messiah." For once, J-Lew seemed like she was just being herself. More, please. (Contradicting all this a bit: The weird promo video below.)

6. TV on the Radio: Dear Science

Another case of dropping pretense (well, relatively speaking—this is TV on the Radio). Coherent, fun, at times almost a party record—provided it's the kind of party where the uptight kids wear cardigans and ties and eat gruyere. See you there?

5. Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak

Once you get past the initial WTF of a hyper-minimalist breakup album comprised almost entirely of songs sung through Autotune, you get … well, you get that, but a really good version of that. I'm not sure I get why this was so controversial, but maybe people were expecting "Gold Digger II: Still Whining"? (In the vide below around 1:40: does he compare Obama to the iPod? I think he does, and I think that's genius.)

4. R.E.M.: Accelerate

For a bit of All That You Can't Leave Behind-style stab at reclaiming their rep, this album holds up remarkably well. Basically, it's a marriage of vintage Buck/Mills/Stipe songwriting (jangle, jangle!) with Monster-style sound (fuzzy jangle, jangle!). Hard to complain, really, given the anemic sound of the past few records. Still, a small part of me is heartbroken at the thought of these guys now being the world's best R.E.M. cover band.

3. Fleet Foxes: s/t

If I were the type to use cliched blender metaphors, I'd describe this as a country-fied Shins meets a less bombastic Band of Horses, using Beach Boys-style harmonies (for cred) that are really more like Eagles-style harmonies (don't tell The Dude). But I'm not.

2. Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend 2008:The Strokes 2001::boat shoes and cable knit:skinny ties and skinnier jeans. But who's complaining about a totally derivative (and yet totally left-field) 30 minutes of catchy tunes? Not me.

1. Portishead

I can't imagine why a distressed epic about loneliness and despair would have topped my 2008 list. (Er.) But it's kind of amazing how un-2008 this album sounds—in the year of Hope and Change, it's dark and paranoid, but not lifeless or anything. In other words: Not a bummer to listen to, but cleansing. Which, I suppose, is more 2008 than I realized.

Live version of the best song, "The Rip"

Extra special bonus Radiohead version:

So good

2008-05-04T14:44:00.002-04:00

WTF is this S?

2008-01-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

Evidently my beloved Twins(TM) have traded Johan Santana for a bucket of balls. Well, not literally--but what a disappointing haul. (I had really looked forward to seeing Jacoby Ellsbury man centerfield.)

That said, what's everyone doing April 8? That should be the best pitcher in baseball's first home start for his new team. See you there.

(For better coverage, check out MetsBlog, Gleeman, and the incomparable LEN 3.)

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Election roundup: Rudy sounds done, McCain goes by Mac now, and Romney just referred to "countries like Asia." (Looks like I'm not the only one who heard it.) I won't tell you how to vote, but you should vote for this guy.

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Also, tonight this guy dug my beard.

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And look who's posting again. Welcome back, champ. (The Shins? Really?!)

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Finally, new Yacht Rock! (Via Stereogum.)

"You weasel!": The new "I drink your milkshake"?

2008-01-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

Probably not, but the first short film from Rick and Adam of MagneticMediaFed is pretty brilliant, in spite of my cameo. Check it below, then give them their propers here.

Trophy time!

2008-01-21T20:52:00.000-05:00

Back by popular (?) demand, it's my guaranteed, 100-percent accurate picks for the Oscar nominations. I'm pretty much in line with conventional wisdom, except I don't think The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will do as well as some do. (Best Picture? Really?)

I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning, or you can take what follows as gospel. (I recommend option two.) Oh, and my tentative picks for winners are in bold.

Best Actor
Mathieu Amaric | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
George Clooney | Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis | There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp | Sweeney Todd
Viggo Mortensen | Eastern Promises

Best Actress
Julie Christie | Away From Her
Marion Cotillard | La Vie en Rose
Angelina Jolie | A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley | Atonement
Ellen Page | Juno

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck | The Assassination of Blah Blah Blah
Javier Bardem | No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano | There Will Be Blood
Philip Seymour Hoffman | Charile Wilson's War
Tom Wilkinson | Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett | I'm Not There
Ruby Dee | American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan | Atonement
Amy Ryan | Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton | Michael Clayton

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson | There Will Be Blood
Ethan and Joel Coen | No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy | Michael Clayton
Sidney Lumet | Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Joe Wright | Atonement

Best Original Screenplay
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Juno
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille

Best Adapted Screenplay
Charlie Wilson's War
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
Into the Wild
There Will Be Blood

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Mountaintop, etc.

2008-01-21T11:35:00.000-05:00

An earnest post, but it's still relevant.

2007: That's how it starts

2008-01-14T21:08:00.001-05:00

My final five are mostly predictable, but it was that kind of year. A few people were dropping some next-level shit, and it didn't take a genius to hear it. But in case you missed anything, here they are.

1. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

Anchored by the best three-song sequence of the year ("North American Scum," "All My Friends," "Someone Great"), Sound of Silver serves as a rejoinder to anyone who thinks dance music can't have a soul (or vice versa). Basically, it's perfect for anyone who was waiting for a hip-shaker about getting older, dealing with stereotypes while abroad, or watching a loved one die. And, let's face it, we all were.

2. M.I.A.: Kala

I don't feel informed enough to say she's the only mainstream(-ish) musician who both reflects and embodies the way people consume music now, but, hey, why not. Not only that, it's is the best punk-rock album of the year, and not (only) because of the Clash samples. Girl knows how to get it done, as on "Paper Planes," which had the most exciting / frightening chorus, like, ever.

3. Radiohead: In Rainbows

And then, suddenly, it was on the Internet: A drop-dead gorgeous collection of ten songs from the era's best band. No bullshit*, just brilliance. Good to have ‘em back.

(*Okay, some bullshit, but their webcasts reward the patient and/or dedicated, as you can see below.)

4. PJ Harvey: White Chalk

My fondness for eccentric female singer-songwriters is pretty well documented, but I think PJ is the best writer of them all. (Sorry, Chan.) That's abundantly clear here, thanks to both PJ's charisma and the arrangements (or lack thereof), which match the intimate subject matter. (Family, loss, the usual.) How the hell she got on The Tonight Show with this stuff, I'll never now.

(Also: Big Love chic?)

5. The Arcade Fire: The Neon Bible

Well, they pulled it off: This one is both overhyped and underrated. But when you get past all the nonsense, you're left with an impressive, passionate set of songs – a more than worthy sequel to Funeral. Also, I thought Paul Dano was convincing as Win Butler in There Will Be Blood.

Oh, and this is the YouTube video of the year. "Oh my god," indeed, dude.

2007: A noun, a verb, and 9/11

2008-01-13T15:38:00.000-05:00

Let's get to this: A not-at-all-overdue list of the best albums of 2007. Hey, some people still have their Christmas decorations up ...

Anyway, with apologies to Jens Lekman (whose record I haven't fully digested), Rilo Kiley (who made seven-tenths of a terrific album), Beirut (who do one thing very, very well), Grinderman (anyone want to hook a brother up?), and the White Stripes (who I might be taking for granted), here's part one of my YouTube-powered ten favorite records of the year.

6. Wilco: Sky Blue Sky

They tried to make him go to rehab, and Jeff Tweedy said "yes, yes, yes." And it must have worked: This easily ranks as the most optimistic set of tunes his band has ever recorded. But those who dismissed it as a song cycle about fresh sheets and clean dishes, missed how uneasy this supposed contentment is. "I survived," Tweedy says in the title track. "That's good enough for now." Sounds like the theme of 2007.

Oh, and what am I gonna do with all these Volkswagens?

7. Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

On which a bedheaded wunderkind gets political, discovers Motown horns and economy (only ten songs! only a half-hour long!), records two stone-cold classics ("The Underdog," "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"), and manages to make it all sound effortless. That Britt Daniel's one consistent dude.

Also: He makes robots dance.

8. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam

I finally get it: Brian Wilson-y arrangements and harmonies wed to off-kilter sounds and screaming. Good for them, and good for us. (Hey, anyone want to send me that Panda Bear album?)

9. Kanye West: Graduation

The first Kanye album I haven't pretended to like. Okay, I'm kidding (kind of), but it's certainly 2007's best record to include a song about Barry Bonds. It also has the year's best tune (not the one about the Giants' slugger).

10. Amy Winehouse:Back to Black
Mark Ronson: Version
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: 100 Days, 100 Nights

Best trend of the year: The rediscovery of Holland-Dozier-Holland grooves and snappy brass sections, all paired with modern beats and fantastic vocals. The worst trend of the year: Female singers spiraling out of control.

Still, it's worth remembering that Amy's voice and Ronson's production go together like peas and carrots, and that his work also included a terrific solo album and a lesser-known wonder by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. (At least I assume it's good—I never picked it up. But the video below suggests as much.)

How many roads, etc.

2008-01-06T12:15:00.000-05:00

I've been reading the excellent (so far) Sweet Soul Music, by Peter Guralnick--for my money, the best chronicler of rock and roll around. As the subtitle accurately states, it covers the rise of southern r&b in the '50s and '60s, including Sam Cooke's rise to fame (something the author revisits in the bio Dream Boogie, which I'll read ... someday). Anyway, I have a shocking lack of Cooke's music on my iTunes, so I went to the YouTubes to find some. Here's what I dug up--a mind-blowing Dylan cover. The audio's a little out of sync, but I think you get the gist. Enjoy.

2007: Wide Stance

2007-12-30T21:40:00.000-05:00

Seems to me that most of the year’s good songs were best heard in the context of entire albums. In other words, not a great year for the single. Still, here are some of the better tunes you (probably) won’t find in my somewhat overdue list of my favorite oh-seven LPs (TK soon, I promise).

1. Justice: "D.A.N.C.E."

As the poster says, "Good clip!"

2. Peter, Bjorn, and John: "That Whistling Song"

Remember the A-Ha video? This is almost like that.

3. Klaxons: "Golden Skans"

For some reason, Universal Music Group disabled the embed feature on the official YouTube post of this video, which is also copyright 2006. So maybe this isn’t from this year? Or that cool? Still.

4. Feist – "1, 2, 3, 4"

But what now what do I do with all these iPod Nanos?

5. Rihanna ft Jay-Z – "Umbrella"

I don’t even like this song that much. But if you’re karaoke-ing at home ...

The Right Star - The Nonsense in Extensia holiday mix

2007-12-16T17:37:00.000-05:00

Happy holidays, all. Right click, save as, listen and enjoy. (That last step is optional, though encouraged.)

1. Vince Guaraldi - Christmas Is Coming [mp3]
2. Dean Martin - Baby, It's Cold Outside [mp3]
3. Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) [mp3]
4. Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) [mp3]
5. Judy Garland - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas [mp3]
6. Tennessee Ernie Ford - A Root'n Toot'n Santa Claus [mp3]
7. Brenda Lee - I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus [mp3]
8. The Band - Christmas Must Be Tonight [mp3]
9. Rosanne Cash - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear [mp3]
10. Buck Owens - Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy [mp3]
11. Aimee Mann - I'll Be Home for Christmas [mp3]
12. R.E.M. - Ghost Reindeer in the Sky [mp3]
13. The Ramones - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) [mp3]
14. Squeeze - Christmas Day [mp3]
15. James Brown - Christmas in Heaven [mp3]
16. The Staple Singers - Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas [mp3]
17. Otis Redding - White Christmas [mp3]
18. The Beatles - Christmas Time (Is Here Again) [mp3]
19. The Polyphonic Spree - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) [mp3]
20. The Flaming Lips - White Christmas [mp3]
21. Deerhoof - Little Drummer Boy [mp3]
22. Asobi Seksu - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) [mp3]
23. Low - Just Like Christmas [mp3]
24. Sufjan Stevens - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing [mp3]
25. Tom Waits - Silent Night [mp3]

A splendid time is guaranteed for some

2007-05-30T21:32:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of Beatles Beatdown, I thought I would post my own ballot.

1. Here Comes the Sun
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
3. Paperback Writer
4. Tomorrow Never Knows
5. Penny Lane
6. Dear Prudence
7. Norwegian Wood (This Bird's Apartment's Getting Burned to the Ground)
8. I Want to Hold Your Hand
9. A Hard Day's Night
10. Help!
11. It Won't Be Long
12. I've Just Seen a Face
13. Because
14. Here, There and Everywhere
15. In My Life
16. I Feel Fine
17. I'm Down
18. Rain
19. Hey Bulldog
20. Drive My Car
21. Lovely Rita
22. She's Leaving Home
23. Two of Us
24. Don't Let Me Down
25. The Long and Winding Road [Anthology 3 version]
26. I Should've Known Better
27. I am the Walrus
28. It's All Too Much
29. Blackbird
30. Long, Long, Long
31. Got to Get You Into My Life
32. Oh! Darling
33. Getting Better
34. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
35. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
36. Revolution [single]
37. There's a Place
38. And Your Bird Can Sing
39. Baby, You're a Rich Man
40. Can't Buy Me Love
41. Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
42. I've Got a Feeling
43. For No One
44. Across the Universe [Anthology 2 version]
45. If I Fell
46. I'll Follow the Sun
47. The Ballad of John and Yoko
48. You Know What to Do [Anthology 1]
49. Any Time at All
50. I'm Looking Through You
51. Let It Be [single version]
52. A Day in the Life
53. I'm So Tired
54. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
55. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
56. Something
57. She Loves You
58. Every Little Thing
59. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
60. Octopus's Garden
61. What You're Doing
62. Get Back [single]
63. Hello, Goodbye
64. The End

Too little, too late (Dept. of)

2007-03-12T20:45:00.000-04:00

Some '06 movies I saw and liked:

10. A Prairie Home Companion
9. Little Children
8. Cavite
7. L'Enfant
6. The Departed
5. Borat
4. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Children of Men
2. The Queen
1. Mutual Appreciation

The first (and last) special award for exemplary levels of genius in the cinematic arts award goes to Sacha Baron Cohen.

Oscar predictions (again)

2007-01-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I've had a lot of requests to do this post again. I guess my picks in the past have made me seems like Nostra-effing-damus. This year seems harder, and it actually seems easier to pick the winners. To demonstrate this, I've put my locks for victory in bold below. Let's do it.

Best Screenplay (Adapted):
-Children of Men
-The Departed
-Dreamgirls
-Little Children
-Thank You for Smoking

Best Screenplay (Original):
-Babel
-Pan's Labyrinth
-Little Miss Sunshine
-The Queen
-Volver

Best Supporting Actress:
-Adriana Barraza, Babel
-Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
-Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
-Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
-Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Best Supporting Actor:
-Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
-Jackie Earl Harley, Little Children
-Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
-Jack Nicholson, The Departed
-Michael Sheen, The Queen

Best Actress:
-Penelope Cruz, Volver
-Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
-Helen Mirren, The Queen
-Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
-Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best Actor:
-Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
-Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
-Peter O'Toole, Venus
-Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
-Forrest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Director:
-Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
-Clint Eastwood (Letters From Iwo Jima)
-Stephen Frears (The Queen)
-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)
-Martin Scorsese (The Departed)

Best Picture:
-Little Miss Sunshine
-Babel
-The Queen
-The Departed
-Dreamgirls

Look good to you? Who do you think will win? More importantly, who do you want to win? And who, besides Borat, will be left out tomorrow morning?

2006: I'm the decider

2007-01-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

This (long overdue [and possibly trite]) list of my favorite '06 albums was supposed to be a lot more ambitious. Oh well! Let's just do this already.

15. Thom Yorke | The Eraser (XL)

Captures the (paranoid, helpless, angry) sound of (NSA wiretapping, post-Katrina, Iraq-in-shambles) 2006.

2006 movie equivalent: A Scanner Darkly

mp3: And It Rained All Night

14. Arctic Monkeys | Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Domino)

It seems like this album came out years ago, and in some ways it sounds like it, too. In a good way. Does the idea of a hyper-Briterate Strokes appeal to you? I thought so.

2006 movie equivalent: The History Boys

mp3: Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But ...

13. Girl Talk | Night Ripper (Illegal Art)

iPod Shuffle too slow? Wish it would shuffle, like, between, like three-second snippets? This mash-up album samples pretty much every song ever recorded. Ideal at parties for friends who are so over traditional definitions of authorship.

2006 movie equivalent: Babel

mp3: Hold Up

12. Bruce Springsteen | We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (Sony)

Yes, this is a cover album of songs that are at least decades old. Yes, the Boss is old enough to be negotiating his golden parachute. But the sounds of New Orleans brass, hell-raiser folk and old-fashioned orneriness combine for a left-field (and left-wing) pleasure. Ideal at parties for friends who are Moving On -- and Drinking Liberally -- dot org.

2006 movie equivalent: Bubble

mp3: O Mary Don't You Weep

11. Yo La Tengo | I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (Matador)

Move past the best-slash-worst album title of the year, and you have an oddly moving and motley collection of YLT tunes -- epic feedback frenzies, rollicking Charlie Brown numbers, the sad song that Georgia sings. Nothing new here -- but there's nothing wrong with consistent excellence.

2006 movie equivalent: The Good Shepherd

mp3: Mr. Tough

10. The Hold Steady | Boys and Girls in America (Vagrant)

The best Springsteen impression of the year (sorry, Mr. Flowers), but that's beside the point. Craig Finn might be the most ordinary frontman in rock today, and that is an extraordinary thing -- when he reminisces about drinking from his prom date's purse, you can see smell the booze.

2006 movie equivalent: Mutual Appreciation

mp3: Massive Nights

9. Beck | The Information (Interscope)

Everybody's favorite Scientologist (sorry, Giovanni Ribisi!) is back. The Information echoes the approach of last year's Guero but with better success: The album is seamlessly integrated, with hip-hop-lite singles like "Elevator Music" meshing with Stones-y groovers like "Strange Apparition." If anyone should be putting out an album a year, it's Mr. Hansen.

2006 movie equivalent: Volver

mp3: Strange Apparition

8. Johnny Cash | American V: A Hundred Highways (Lost Highway)

The Man in Black wasn't fucking around. This album is so soaked in death it's almost unbearable, even when Cash is (maybe) joking about being put in a box and hauled away on the train. Inspiring in its dignity.

2006 movie equivalent: A Prairie Home Companion

mp3: Like the 309

7. Gnarls Barkley | St. Elsewhere (Downtown)

Beneath all the jokey costumes and loopy interviews lies a pretty unsettling record. Subjects include nightmares, suicide and, um, Transformers. So it's not all freaky, and it's not brilliant, but the best moments were truly awesome, as on the so-old-it's-new soul mover, "Smiley Faces."

2006 movie equivalent: Inside Man

mp3: Smiley Faces

6. Beirut | The Gulag Orkestar (Ba Da Bing)

An everythinghappensatoncewhatthefuck kind of album, it pretty much finds the key of Balkan funeral and stays there. The sweet horn breakdown in "Postcards From Italy" is the key moment -- it typifies the album's unapologetic prettiness. Hard to believe this is the work of a 19-year-old.

2006 movie equivalent: Borat

mp3: Postcards From Italy

5. Cat Power | The Greatest (Matador)

So apparently Chan Marshall spent days locked up by herself, getting drunk, listening to Miles Davis and wishing she were dead. (Hard to believe, what with Cobain cribbing lyrics like "I hate myself and I want to die," right?) Anyway, she sobered up, thank god, and went on a real! life! tour! with actual musicians -- but this album's surprising hints of joy suggested a turnaround was in store. Sure, it tails off toward the end, but the early melancholy moments sound like the work of a (hypothetical) white niece of Al Green, maybe because his backing band provided the laid-back vibe. Long live Chan.

2006 movie equivalent: Old Joy

mp3: Lived in Bars

4. Ghostface Killah | Fishscale (Def Jam)

"This is real shit," GFK tells us on the opening track, and that ain't no foolin'. From his thoughts on how to discipline children (belt straps, of course) to dreaming of an underwater land (the mermaids have "Halle Berry haircuts") to how he wants his hair cut ("don't touch the sides"), he doesn't hold back. Of course, there's also the street wisdom of a former (?) drug-dealer, worthy of the first season of "The Wire." The rare combination of a man who writes and spits rhymes with equal versatility. A classic.

2006 movie equivalent: Miami Vice

mp3: Underwater

3. Bob Dylan | Modern Times (Columbia)

A stylistic sequel to 2001's "Love and Theft," but a little more sinister. We get that Bob can't go back to paradise because he "killed a man back there"; we see people escaping a flood, "walking on a bridge, carrying everything that they own,"; and he's raising an army of "tough sons of bitches ... from the orphanages." This is Biblical shit, underscored by a final track where he's silently mowing down his enemies, a vigilante descendant of The Man With No Name. The music grooves, too, moving from Tin Pan Alley pop to Chuck Berry rave-ups. There's a sweet side, strangely enough, prompting Slate to call it (bizarrely) the "makeout album of the year." These songs are uneasy, though, and it feels like Harry and Sally left the New Year's Eve party only to get stopped by Charles Bronson from Death Wish. Which actually would make a pretty good movie.

2006 movie equivalent: The Departed

mp3: Ain't Talkin'

2. TV on the Radio | Return to Cookie Mountain (Interscope)

OK, this isn't a very good album title either, but that's pretty much the only flaw. (Well, that and the four bonus tracks, which are the 21st century equivalent of the jams that made up the third LP of "All Things Must Pass." But I digress.) There's a post-fatalistic thing going on here, as if the band decided, Emma Goldman-style, that there must be dancing at the revolution. The album is impeccably produced, from the woozy horns of the opening "I Was a Lover" (with its cryptic opening lines, "I was a lover / before this war") to the whistling "Row Your Boat" style round "A Method." But "Wolf Like Me" justifiably gets the most attention -- you get a fuzzy-funky bass, harmonies on the breakdown, and a whole lyric about the totally relateable troubles of being a werewolf. Awesome.

2006 movie equivalent: Children of Men

mp3: Wolf Like Me

1. Joanna Newsom | Ys (Drag City)

Sometimes it takes a record as out of time as this one to sum up a year. Five songs, the shortest one seven minutes long, about bears marrying monkeys, the true nature of meteors, and the like. Newsom's squeaky-strong voice is more than an affectation -- it's an instrument capable of beautiful things. And "Ys" is borderline Socratic -- Newsom's voice and harp ask the questions, and Van Dyke Parks' kooky string arrangements provide the answers (or are they more questions?). It's all summed up in the year's best lyric, from "Emily":

The meteorite is a source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see.
And the meteroid is a stone that's devoid
of the fire that propelled it to thee.

I'm not much of a lyrics guy, but for some reason that one hooks me. (Maybe it's the useful scientific knowledge?) Anyway, I'm tempted to say that you get it or you don't, but in actuality you get it or you're missing out. And I'm sorry for you if it's the latter.

2006 movie equivalent: Pan's Labyrinth

mp3: Sawdust and Diamonds

*With special thanks to Rick for hosting the mp3s. And with apologies to The Knife and Clipse, whose records I still haven't bought but could very well hold their own against anyone on this list.

2006: Peppered pretty good

2006-12-19T22:50:00.000-05:00

Given that I didn’t really listen to the radio this year, I probably should have gone the Pitchfork route and listed tracks, not singles, but whatever. Here are five singles that penetrated my hermetic consciousness and made my year a little better:

5. Bishop Allen | The EP project

New Yorkers (and co-stars of Andrew Bujalski films) made one EP a month, for 12 months. Gimmicky? Yes. Fantastic? Yes again.

[Mp3s here. My favorite is the lovely (if atypical) "Butterfly Nets."]

4. Teddybears | Punkrocker (ft. Iggy Pop)

It’s hard to explain why this hook-y synthpop gem is so damned moving. I don’t remember the Cars being moving – do you? Anyway, I think it’s because Iggy Pop’s deadpan sounds so melancholy on the chorus. “Well, I’m a punk rocker, yes I am,” he says; “no more, no less,” is just implied. And is he in character when he says “I’m bored with being God”? Or is it the truth?

[streaming here.]

3. LCD Soundsystem | 45'33"

Including this on the singles list is probably cheating because it is, as the title implies, 45-and-a-half minutes long. That said, this uninterrupted track, created so Nike consumers would have something to jog to, is pretty damn delicious. Corporate synergy never sounded so good.

[purchase here]

2. Lily Allen | Smile

"MySpace star promotes self" only tells half the story. This is the only tune that actually did what a single should do - get me interested in the album, the artist, the whole damned show. Catchy as the plague, better for your health.

1. Justin Timberlake | SexyBack

Honestly, it sounds a lot like "Milkshake," which isn’t a bad thing. And of course, it became a buzz phrase within minutes of its release. Even Al Gore was in on the act - freakin' Al Gore! Not bad on the dance floor, neither – as everyone knows from drunken dudes:

to kids in Brooklyn:

to, um, this guy:

Oscar nominations tomorrow! Predictions tonight!

2006-01-30T23:21:00.000-05:00

Let's be honest: Picking four out of five for the major categories ain't brain surgery. It's much harder to pick the actual winners on the actual night, and I'm very terrible at it. (Ray for Best Picture? Was I drunk? Well, kind of.)

Anyway, tomorrow a.m. come the nominations. Here are some guesses as to whose name will be called at a ridiculously early hour. (Nominees in bold are my preliminary guesses as to the eventual winners.):

Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Maria Bello - A History of Violence

Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Terrence Howard - Crash

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
Felicity Huffman - TransAmerica
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Charlize Theron - North Country
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice

Best Actor
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.
Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man

Best Screenplay - Original
Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale
Woody Allen - Match Point
Paul Haggis - Crash
Judd Apatow/ Steve Carell - The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Cliff Hollingsworth - Cinderella Man

Best Screenplay - Adaptation
Larry McMurtry/Diana Ossana - Brokeback Mountain
Tony Kushner - Munich
Clooney/Grant Heslov - Good Night, and Good Luck.
Dan Futterman - Capote
Gill Dennis/James Mangold - Walk the Line

Best Director
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck.
Paul Haggis - Crash
Bennett Miller - Capote
Steven Spielberg - Munich

Best Picture
Crash
Brokeback Mountain
Walk the Line
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Capote

(Proof that it's easy: My predictions almost exactly sync up with those of The Expert. This is a coincidence, I assure you.)

2005: Heckuva job

2006-01-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

Here's the last post about losing it at the movies. The last post for ... ever???

12. Without a strangely engrossing yawn of a blowjob fantasy, Last Days fills the void for ponderous indie movie that seems a lot better after you’ve watched it. In theory, Gus Van Sant’s last three movies (with Elephant and Gerry, which I haven’t seen) fit my Platonic ideal movie: unrepentant long takes that show the extraordinary ordinariness of life, whether it’s gunning down a high school or, um, making mac and cheese. While mumbling. For a really long time.

11. I really enjoyed the first two acts of both A History of Violence and War of the Worlds. They work in similar ways – manipulating familiar images of violence to their own ends. In History’s case, the violence is drawn from the familiar pulp crime novels (or graphic novels) and movies (or TV) to suggest we, the audience, are both horrified and turned on by it. (Best shown in the movie’s late sex scene, possibly the best movie moment of the year.) War of the Worlds recycles 9/11 imagery for murkier purposes: Is it trying to remind us of the realities of terror? Or is it showing how such images can be used to induce fear in its audience. Either way, both falter at the end. History by taking a left-turn for an amusing digression that belongs in another movie; War by finally being overrun by its own improbabilities.

8-10. Call it a tie. Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mysterious Skin and The Squid and the Whale all enjoyed a season of being indie darlings, all of them sexualized children to different ends, and all of them had deep, deep flaws -- preciousness, unevenness and solipsism, respectively. And all of them, finally, were redeemed by great performances, notably Miranda July in MYEWK, Jeff Daniels in Squid and especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s revelatory turn as a street hustler who longs for the only man he truly loved.

7. Part of me suspects Match Point is just Crimes and Misdemeanors 2, with neither the wit nor the balls of its predecessor. But whereas that movie was philosophical – there is no justice and therefore no God! – this one is more psychological, as Jonathan Rhys-Meyers goes all Dickie Greenleaf on London’s upper class. (Aside: Does the movie endorse his view of valuing luck over being good? Or could J R-M's character have eschewed luck by being good?) Woody Allen's best since Sweet and Lowdown.

6. Of course the Hirsute Hungarian goes for a movie named Grizzly Man. I’m still not sure Werner Herzog won’t someday reveal that this was all an elaborate hoax, Blair Witch-style. (The Vanity Fair article I never read suggests otherwise.) Anyway, there’s something unsavory about a German filmmaker using a dead bear-lover to score points about how nature works, but that just makes the movie more compelling.

5. It would be easy to dismiss The New World. After all, Terrence Malick’s latest – just his fourth movie in more than 30 years – does have an awful lot of Colin Farrell and 15-year-old Q’urianka Kilcher exchanging meaningful glances. But somewhere in there is a masterful cinematic poem about the majesty of discovering, yes, a new world.

4. By not pulling any punches and not screwing up the ending, Steven Spielberg has made his best movie of the past 15 years with Munich. (Though A.I. and Minority Report were near-masterpieces.) About midway through the movie, the thriller sheen wears off and something much darker is revealed: the possibility that no response to terrorism will work. Not so much a call to nihilism as a hope for a cease-fire. (One nagging thought: What was with the crazy cross-cutting sequence near the end? Can anyone explain that to me?)

3. Bill Murray’s turn in Broken Flowers will go unrecognized by the academy, and that’s a goddamn shame. Few actors can communicate as much with no one else in the frame, and Murray does it by barely shifting his eyes. Jeffrey Wright’s sleuthing neighbor is his perfect foil. Bonus: Best soundtrack of the year.

2. Old school. George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck . is great on every level. Thrilling as a story, potent as a fable, beautiful as a piece of film and not without humor – asking Liberace if he plans to marry! – this movie sweats with urgency. As Rolling Stone’s headline put it: See it now!

1. If I’ve seen a more heart-wrenching love story than Brokeback Mountain, I don’t remember it. Part of me doesn’t trust my reaction – did the movie manipulate my emotions? Or did it just work as a whole? I suspect the latter, as the movie had possibly my favorite screenplay of the year. Throw in fantastic cinematography and a standout cast, and you have my favorite movie of 2005.

2005: The aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them.

2006-01-03T22:46:00.000-05:00

I saw 41 theatrically released movies in 2005 (not all of them in the theater, my budget-watching friend). Here is the crème de la crème of individual performances. Full movie list tomorrow.

Best Performance:

1. Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)
Ledger delivers on the promise and gives the swooning, hunky performance his clusters of female fans have been pining for. Wait, what’s that? Oh …
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin)
Who knew the kid from 3rd Rock would make such a convincing street hustler? Director Gregg Araki, apparently.
3. Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
Fresh off his loony performance comes another hilarious role, both warm and masochistic.
4. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Classic Oscar-bait – he cries! he lisps! he’s gay! – but in the best way. (And now that PSH has played Lester Bangs and Truman Capote, which legendary 20th century writer should he play next? My vote's for Gabriel Garcia Lorca. [Bonus: Did anyone else notice that this is the second movie where Chris Cooper played a character interviewed by a New Yorker writer? Two hugs to whomever can name the other.])
5. Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
In a year of weak female lead performances (and with apologies to Felicity Huffman), Witherspoon’s June Carter breathed life into the stuffy biopic genre.

Best Supporting Performance:

1. Maria Bello (A History of Violence)
One of the best one-scene transformations since Naomi Watts’ audition in Mulholland Drive.
2. Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale)
Great in the role of me at 50.
3. Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
A real scene-stealer in a movie about how her husband just won’t stop gardening.
4. Levon Helm (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada)
Without revealing too much, the scene where Helm – playing a blind old man who listens to Mexican radio despite knowing no Spanish – begs Tommy Lee Jones to do him a favor is heartbreaking. Bonus: A pretty mean drummer.
5. Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead)
In a mess of a movie, he gives the one performance that makes a beeline to the movie’s point: War’s unique hell of waiting.
6. Jake Gyllenhaal’s mustache (Brokeback Mountain)
Self-explanatory.

Best Cinematography:

1. 2046
Wong Kar-Wai is a god among visual stylists.
2. Good Night, and Good Luck.
Robert Elswit’s smoky black-and-white brilliantly underscore a movie about the difficulty of choosing right over wrong.
3. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
You have to be doing something right to make me thirsty for a damned Tecate.
4. The New World
One shot as an example: You see the tops of trees, a forest. It is perfectly still. Until there is a ripple – it’s actually a reflection in the water. Amazing.
5. The Constant Gardener
The whole overexposed, white-out look is in danger of becoming a cliché. But this movie did it right.

2005: George Bush doesn’t care about black people.

2006-01-01T18:49:00.000-05:00

or Albums: Part Two

5. The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
The suddenly sexy rhythm section helps a brother work it out, mad marimba-style. When ya gonna ring it, indeed.

4. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
(And I’m half asleep, it’s 2006.) Asking Emmylou Harris to do harmony vocals is never a bad idea.

3. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary
Arcade Fire + Modest Mouse, sure, but songs this good don’t write themselves. Delivered with passion, and frankly I’m not in love with the modern world either.

2. Keren Ann – Nolita
A cabaret full of slinky pop that will do more for your love life than anything advertised in the back of Esquire.

1. M.I.A. – Arular
If this isn’t the sound of 2005 – equally obsessed with sex and terrorism, a smorgasbord of samples over Latin beats, all produced by a southerner, then personified by a British-Tamil beauty – than what is?

2005: I have never used steroids. Period.

2005-12-31T18:04:00.000-05:00

or Albums: Part One.

I'm lucky enough to offer my opinions professionally on albums and artists, but unfortunately I never hear enough. There are quite a few in the class of '05 I'd still like to get to -- Devendra Banhart, Antony and the Johnsons, and so forth -- but now that the year's almost (finally!) over, it's time to weigh in on my favorite 10. Here's the first batch:

10. DangerDoom -- The Mouse and the Mask
A collaboration between one of hip-hop's best MCs (MF Doom), a notorious producer (The Grey Album's Danger Mouse) and, um, the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, it's the second-craziest concept album of the year. Even if it proves that the best skits wear thin awfully quick, my belated foray into MF Doom-dom was a revelation.

9. Spoon -- Gimme Fiction
Long overlooked by the Hirsute Hungarian, this album was dynamic, fun and weird -- in other words, great. Gimme Spoon, har har.

8. Deerhoof -- The Runners Four
With song titles like "O'Malley, Former Underdog" and "Spirit Ditties of No Tone" (not to mention lyrics like "Baby, baby, hi"), this could've been a ponderous exercise in self-conscious weirdo-ism. Instead, it transcends quirk to be a majestic album of noisy pop.

7. The Hold Steady -- Separation Sunday
I'm still not sure I follow the narrative of hoodrats, aging stoners and people with Christ tattoos, but the band's E-Street-style everydayness is a relief from boring soundalike haircut bands. Bonus: Their passionate performance at CBGB during CMJ was the best live show I saw all year.

6. Kanye West -- Late Registration
It might seem weird to compare this album with Franz Ferdinand's first -- though West apparently called Franz Ferdinand's debut album "white crunk." Seems he was paying attention, as he cut the fluff and packed his latest with wall-to-wall hits, Franz-style. Question: With its politics, self-conscious (and self-promoting) navel-gazing and crazy-ass links, er, samples, is this the first album-as-blog?

Come back tomorrow, hungover or no.

2005: You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.

2005-12-30T20:07:00.000-05:00

The following list of my favorite singles should come with a huge caveat: I don't listen to commercial radio. Ever. And I don't have MTV. So let's list some potential list-toppers that I haven't heard enough times to consider: Missy Elliott's "Lose Control"; Amerie's "One Thing"; anything by Fall Out Boy; anything by Mariah Carey; anything by Crazy Frog. Sorry. But let's press on, shall we?

10. Weezer -- "We Are All on Drugs"
Best so-obvious-it's-not chorus since Oasis' "D'you Know What I Mean?"

9. Sufjan Stevens -- "Chicago"
Milk chocolate:A wholesome meal::Choral majesty, overearnest banjos and songs about Chicago:A great album. In fun size portions, though ... delicious.

8. Franz Ferdinand -- "The Fallen"
Holy moly. You really could have it so much better.

7. Devendra Banhart -- "I Feel Just Like a Child"
Like Donovan, but creepier. Check the video.

6. Rhianna -- "Pon de Replay"
The best thing about this Best of the New Beyonces is how she doesn't really dance in the video. She sort of shakes it for a few seconds, laughs, and they cut away. Brilliant.

5. The Pussycat Dolls -- "Don't Cha"
Probably the best video I've ever seen in a Foot Locker.

4. The Bravery -- "An Honest Mistake"
The Stone Temple Pilots of the '00s, and this is their "Plush." Let's hope they never get around to a "Sex Type Thing."

3. Gwen Stefani -- "Hollaback Girl"
Yes, spelling "bananas" can be fun. But more importantly, this is probably the best pop song ever about feces.

2. Kanye West (ft. Jamie Foxx) -- Gold Digger
18 years? 18 years?!

1. Kelly Clarkson -- "Since U Been Gone"
Verse-chorus-verse so catchy and powerful it's almost worth digging up St. Kurt just so he can hear it and smile. Almost.

PS -- The supremely qualified Rivers Cuomo gives his list here.

2000-2004: Don't look back

2005-12-20T16:33:00.000-05:00

Well, we're about halfway through the decade called The Aughts. The world hasn't changed much since Dec. 31, 1999, but I think we've earned the right to look back. So for readers from one to 92, here's a look back at my favorite CDs and movies of the decade's first half. (2005 not included.)

Discotheque:

5. Fiery Furnaces Gallowsbird's Bark
Chicago siblings tour the world from the Millennium Dome to Spain and come back to stuff an album full of crunchy hooks and light-speed vocals.

4. White Stripes Elephant
3. Radiohead Kid A
In early '01, a line was drawn: The future of rock was either weirdo electronics from the likes of Radiohead and Sigur Ros or neo-trad guitar riffage from The Strokes, The Stripes and The Copycats. I prefer to live in a world where we can have both. Start here.

2. The Arcade Fire Funeral
For an album this intense, it sure makes me reach for the repeat button a lot. Plus: The best live show in indie.

1. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
So good, Time Warner bought it twice!

Cinematheque:

The '00s, so far, seem to be churning out great love stories the way the '90s did crime stories. Is it a coincidence? Am I a lovefool? These are my favorites, along with how they do it.

5. In the Mood For Love (Pent up sensuality and longing. Shown through leering slo-mo shots, Chinese film noir costumes and off-kilter framing.)

4. Ghost World (Fetishizing of old things [and people]. Shown through old blues songs, comic-book deadpan and Thora Birch's subsequent disappearance from the planet.)

3(tie). Mulholland Drive/ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (The strange persistence of memory. Shown through non-linear storytelling, confusion of fantasy and reality and the haunting details -- [unopened] boxes/presents in particular -- of everyday romance.)

2. Y Tu Mama Tambien (A modern day Romeo and Juliet [Romeo and Juliet and Romeo?]. Shown through deadpan narration, kinetic acting and a title that's Spanish for Jules and Jim Go to Mexico.)

1. Punch-Drunk Love (Dizzying, smash-your-face-with-a-polo-mallet, Technicolor love. Shown through epic tracking shots, abstract visuals from Jeremy Blake, and an exuberant Jon Brion score.)

Soon: The year's top singles, albums and movies.

Ain't no foolin' around

2005-12-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Check back frequently for end-of-year lists, possible hijinks and the occasional breath mint.