It's time for me to do that year-end list of highlights... not "best of" though. That's too definitive and I have no claim to make as an arbiter of stuff like that. So let's just jump into what I enjoyed the most in the public domain of culture since last January 1...
Favorite Movies: Across the Universe - The Beatles theme, fresh takes on the music and Julie Taymor's suitably trippy visuals made a winning combo for me.
The Darjeeling Limited - This is actually the first Wes Anderson film I got to see in the theaters and I've seen it twice. He appears to have moved a bit beyond some of the "twee" tendencies that characterized his earlier productions, which is good even though that tweeness was part of what made "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Rushmore" in particular so enjoyable. I think going to India relieved him of some of the pressure of having to physically construct each scene before lensing it in his customary symmetrical format. The story is fairly slight, which is also fine - basically, a road movie about three brothers in an exotic locale dealing with some unsettled family business. Wes and his troupe all appear to have grown up a bit so the whimsy is bit less obvious but still there enough to produce many subtly humorous and a few laugh out loud funny moments. I will get the Criterion DVD upon release...
Hot Fuzz - Crazy English action spoof had me laughing throughout but be ready for the grim, bloody humor (and I mean real bloody, not "bloody" like the Brits use it.) There were several other films that I didn't get to see that might have made this list. "Into the Wild" comes to mind - I'm waiting for it to show up at the discount theater, very soon I hope.
Favorite New Music: Chemical Brothers "We Are The Night" - Any new ChemBros music is big news to me, I'm a huge fan of everything they've done and was thoroughly pleased with this release. They continue to take electronic dance music in new directions and their production is simply stunning. I liked the CD enough to download pre-release bootlegs of each track, buy the CD and purchase it from iTunes to get the bonus tracks. Plus the CD singles - I even named my fantasy football team "We Are The Night" (though it didn't seem to help any.) I'm a fan, without apologies.
Justice "Cross" and Digitalism "Idealism" represented a kind of techno revival last summer, at least to my ears. They're both European based duos who put out some fresh new synthetic sounds that got my attention and I look forward to hearing more from them if they choose to stay in the music game.
The Go! Team "Proof Of Youth" - This is, I think, mainly one guy's musical vision, but it's quite entertaining - he somehow melds 70's TV car chase themes with cheerleader chants and a funky electronica big beat hip-hop feel to produce very hooky tunes about topics that don't really seem to register much with me for content but I enjoy listening to it anyway. I recommend them highly if you are feeling adventurous and experimental, assuming that the above description appeals to you in some way.
The Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" - This is my nod to something resembling "contemporary classic rock" that I think I will look back on to remind myself that rock isn't really dead after all. I will put "Icky Thump" by the White Stripes in that same category, though I do wish they had come up with a better title for the project.
Polyphonic Spree "Fragile Army" - The Spree are another group I've been following for a few years, since their first CD came out. I like the retro-seventies "Up With People" peace love and sunshine orchestral pop music they produce. This CD darkened up the mood just a bit but they have found a unique niche. Listening to just a couple of their songs produces a quick uplift effect for me so I like having them around.
M.I.A. "Kala" - M.I.A. is a young woman from Sri Lanka who came to England some years ago and presents an intense and engaging mix of techno, hip hop, world music sounds infused with a political stance that settles somewhere between militant and trendy. Certainly a finalist for the most garish multi-colored packaging of the year. I love the heart and soul that comes through the crunchy, heavily processed rhythms and textures.
Favorite Music Re-Issues: Love Is The Song We Sing - the fourth offering in the "Nuggets" series of box sets, this 4-disc collection focuses on the S.F. Bay Area in the mid-60's, before during and after the Summer of Love. Features all the big groups - Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver, Country Joe, etc. as well as numerous obscure and nearly forgotten bands. Lovingly packaged in a coffee-table quality book. A most awesome and delightful relic of a bygone era!
Bob Dylan "Dylan" - I went ahead and splurged for the deluxe edition box set, which features little black CDs that look like vinyl albums, a set of postcards but most importantly a very succinct overview of the biggest songs from the full span of Dylan's illustrious career. No rarities or outtakes to be found here, which bothered some of his hardcore fans, but this is simply an amazing collection of music and deserves appreciation simply as a document of what the man has accomplished. A great introduction for younger fans who may be curious to know what all the adulation directed at the old guy is all about anyway.
Favorite DVD Releases: The Third Man - Orson Welles as the enigmatic black-marketeer running for his life through the sewers of Vienna. Two-Lane Blacktop - James Taylor and Dennis Wilson race Warren Oates across early 70's America, for no particular purpose other than it's something to do. Ace In The Hole - I didn't know that cynicism to this degree could come out of a Hollywood studio in the 1950's, but glad that it's been preserved for our enjoyment, awaiting an era when it's sardonic take on the media could be fully appreciated by the mass audience.
That's it for now... I may get around to books and/or events of the year later. Or maybe not!
Friday, December 28, 2007
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7 comments:
Hi Dave,
Your movie list is a bit sparse. Doesn't sound like you saw too many movies you liked. I too liked Across the Universe....You might want to check out a movie called "Once"...Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune said, "Once may well be the best music film of our generation"...That is probably an overstatement but this film was very favorably reviewed by a significant number of movie critics...Happy New Year Dave to you and your family...and...go Trojans...Slaughter another Big Ten opponent tomorrow...
I agree that the movie list is sparse. There were a lot of films that I just never got around to seeing and some of those that I did I just went to because it was the social thing to do. So I won't mention "I Am Legend" or "Beowulf-3D" or "3:10 To Yuma" or "Transformers" or "Fantastic 4: Silver Surfer" on my list. Because they just really didn't do it for me. I could have added "Sunshine" and "Sicko" though but they just didn't occur to me as I was writing the post and that means something, I guess!
Hey, about the Trojans and the Big Ten... I watched a little bit of that Rose Bowl game yesterday until it turned into a joke and I found better things to do. I'm not really drawn in by the "Big Ten vs. Pac Ten" rivalry... for some reason, college football just doesn't hold my interest! Not to put a damper on your enjoyment though - I'm glad your team finished up well and all. I was happy to see something positive happen with the Wolverines football program yesterday, where they actually came from behind to beat a high-scoring opponent late in the game and spare poor old Lloyd Carr from having to suck it up and make one final "we gave it our best shot" speech. I guess now that my son is likely to attend U of M next fall, I will be a little more attentive to what goes on in the Big House and environs. It's been a lot more disappointment than gratification for several years, tuning in to a "meaningful" Wolverines game. They always wind up with decent overall W-L numbers but for casual fans like myself who only tune in for parts of their marquee match-ups, it seems like a waste of time to see them come up short. But there's a big positive buzz accompanying the hire of their new coach Rich Rodriguez, so maybe this marks the beginning of a new era. Not holding my breath though.
I appreciate lists like this because it exposes me to new artists I've never heard of. I may do a "best of 2007" list on my own blog (whenever I find the time); if I do, I'll probably include The White Stripes' unfortunately-named Icky Thump.
Hi Darrell,
Nice to see you pop up here! I will head over to your blog over the next few days or so to see what you put on your list. :o) I have plenty of other recommendations for new/less familiar music and/or DVDs if you're interested. Let me know any particular genres or styles and I can probably come up with something you haven't heard or seen yet. :o)
I too am happy to see the Wolverines beat the Gators, if for no other reason than to see all the hype of the SCC squelched a bit. I watched the Rose Bowl but was not into it because I expected them to put the hammer to the Illini. They just lack the experience of playing on this kind of stage right now and USC may be playing as well as anybody in the country right now...and...their defense is absolutely awesome....
Did you see "Juno"? I think you'd enjoy it. :)
And about MI - I too was so happy they won! Good way for Carr to go out.
I do intend to see Juno but I also intend to see lots of other movies that I just don't find time for... like I didn't get to see I'm Not There before it left the theater last week. >:o( And I haven't seen Into The Wild yet either. But of course Juno seems like a can't-miss, I've seen the previews a couple times and it looks like a destination movie...
There was a feature on the radio this morning about how Lloyd Carr is the first significant Michigan Football coach to go out with a win in his final game over the last 60 years or so. Bo Schembechler lost a heart-breaking bowl game in his finale and others who won national championships before him wound up getting fired after they led teams to miserable records after the fire went out a bit. Of course, none of them went out as ignominiously as Woody Hayes... ;o)
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