Dark Chocolate.
I used to hate the stuff but now it's tastier than ever. Love it.
END TRANSMISSION.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
'Once' Soundtrack
This album is pretty dern good in my opinion. Furthermore, so is the film, but I haven't experienced it more than once (LAWL SEE WHUT I DID THERE?) and I'm more acquainted with the soundtrack currently.
It's damn right these guys won the Oscar. They bleedin' deserved it. The song 'Falling Slowly' is just plain well-written and these two are fortunate enough to have the perfect voices for the song. And, honestly, that can be said about most of the songs on the album.
--'If You Want Me' : I won't lie, I love her voice. She sounds simply gentle and has a real Emelie Simon quality about it, and I like her music a lot anyway. Plus, the scene it went with was great and appropriate.
--'Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy' : Just plain funny. I like funny.
--'Fallen From the Sky' : This song is a nice change of pace from the rest of the album, what with the addition of the synth. It's quaint.
--'Say it to Me Now' : Can someone say 'pathos'? Because this is pretty much that in a nutshell. Good stuff.
--'Lies' : Very clearly the best effing song on the entire album, and I mean that. It's a simple, well-written song that repeats itself but it far from overstays its welcome. Her voice in the background is prevalent, but not overpowering and, oddly enough, neither is his. This is one of the greatest songs ever, and I would honestly buy this album if only for this song.
Overall, this album gets my seal of approval. It's quirky at times, it's comforting at others, it's independent as all get-out, and, as the crown jewel, the guy's Irish.
IRISH.
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD THAT'S AWESOME.
Oh, and see the film, too. It's not half bad.
It's damn right these guys won the Oscar. They bleedin' deserved it. The song 'Falling Slowly' is just plain well-written and these two are fortunate enough to have the perfect voices for the song. And, honestly, that can be said about most of the songs on the album.
--'If You Want Me' : I won't lie, I love her voice. She sounds simply gentle and has a real Emelie Simon quality about it, and I like her music a lot anyway. Plus, the scene it went with was great and appropriate.
--'Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy' : Just plain funny. I like funny.
--'Fallen From the Sky' : This song is a nice change of pace from the rest of the album, what with the addition of the synth. It's quaint.
--'Say it to Me Now' : Can someone say 'pathos'? Because this is pretty much that in a nutshell. Good stuff.
--'Lies' : Very clearly the best effing song on the entire album, and I mean that. It's a simple, well-written song that repeats itself but it far from overstays its welcome. Her voice in the background is prevalent, but not overpowering and, oddly enough, neither is his. This is one of the greatest songs ever, and I would honestly buy this album if only for this song.
Overall, this album gets my seal of approval. It's quirky at times, it's comforting at others, it's independent as all get-out, and, as the crown jewel, the guy's Irish.
IRISH.
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD THAT'S AWESOME.
Oh, and see the film, too. It's not half bad.
People I Don't Need to Associate With
Here's a fun little mini-update idea I had called 'People I Don't Need to Associate With' or 'PIDN2AW' for short.
Todays contestant is:
-People who wear their sunglasses on their head backwards when they are not in regular use.
What, you think you're clever? You don't need to actually use them so you have them in the most wrong place possible to store them. What, do you actually have eyes on the back of your head, and are they so sensitive so sunlight that you have to put the sunglasses there, of all places? Do what normal people do and put the sunglasses on top of your fucking head like everyone else, or use some kind of a case.
Todays contestant is:
-People who wear their sunglasses on their head backwards when they are not in regular use.
What, you think you're clever? You don't need to actually use them so you have them in the most wrong place possible to store them. What, do you actually have eyes on the back of your head, and are they so sensitive so sunlight that you have to put the sunglasses there, of all places? Do what normal people do and put the sunglasses on top of your fucking head like everyone else, or use some kind of a case.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Harold and Maude
Clearly one of the best movies ever from the usual standpoints involving equal parts humour and morbidity. This prize film is one of the least-known cult classics out there.
::ASIDE:: Please know what I mean by a cult classic. I do not mean a piece of culture that involves a fanatic following that know the work backwards and forwards and sidewards and skywards. I mean a film that, when addressed in a public situation, is not well-known enough for Jon Smith behind you to join in the conversation because they saw it once way back when. From this definition, the films The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Donnie Darko are cult classics, to which I say 'No, sir!' While I do acknowledge the fact that they are textbook examples of the 'cult' variety, they are not what I refer to when I say 'cult film'. They have embedded themselves so deeply into the mainstream culture that every Tom, Dick, and Harry can have an opinion on them.
While yes, Harold and Maude is known by a few people who saw it once, if it were happened upon in regular conversation Mr. Asshole Passerby would have a slim chance of knowing what you were talking about. There would be an even smaller chance that they would have enjoyed it on that viewing. I myself had never even heard about it until about four years ago when my aunt insisted this was a film for me. She was right.
The short synopsis of the film is: A rich, teenage boy named Harold is plagued by ennui and only finds enjoyment from attending funerals of strangers and faking his own death for his mother who, understandably, doesn't find it entertaining in the least. The other half of the titular duo is Maude, a 59-year old woman who lives life to its fullest as a free spirit, doing as she pleases and who also takes enjoyment in attending the funerals of absolute strangers. The two meet, and Maude takes Harold under her wing to teach him that life should, every day, be lived to its fullest. In the process, the two fall in love.
Yes.
A 16-year old boy falls in love with a 59-year old woman. Let that sink in for a second. And in the process, H&M makes itself one of the creepiest films that purposefully sets itself apart from others by completely disregarding modern film tropes. I wish not to spoil the ending, but it is extraordinarily powerful and perfectly fitting.
So why even discuss this film, when it makes a point to give you both the heebies and the jeebies? It is not merely because it is obscure or makes us laugh in the face of Pointless Life holding hands with Riotous Humour. But because it has such a great message of living life to its fullest. Many people find solace in mulling about humdrum lives and not taking chances, and it is the actions of these people the film is opposed to. H&M does what every good piece of art should do: make Man step out of his life and examine it himself so that he can point out the trivialities in it, and then act upon them.
I start with this film because it helps in my cause. I choose with my actions to make people step back and criticize life for what it really is. By deviating from the norm (going to funerals, falling in love with someone four times your age) it makes one understand what it is to be human and how one can be able to become a derivation of that: human, but a new kind of human.
*Not all film reviews and analysis will be like this, but this is an excellent example of it.
::ASIDE:: Please know what I mean by a cult classic. I do not mean a piece of culture that involves a fanatic following that know the work backwards and forwards and sidewards and skywards. I mean a film that, when addressed in a public situation, is not well-known enough for Jon Smith behind you to join in the conversation because they saw it once way back when. From this definition, the films The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Donnie Darko are cult classics, to which I say 'No, sir!' While I do acknowledge the fact that they are textbook examples of the 'cult' variety, they are not what I refer to when I say 'cult film'. They have embedded themselves so deeply into the mainstream culture that every Tom, Dick, and Harry can have an opinion on them.
While yes, Harold and Maude is known by a few people who saw it once, if it were happened upon in regular conversation Mr. Asshole Passerby would have a slim chance of knowing what you were talking about. There would be an even smaller chance that they would have enjoyed it on that viewing. I myself had never even heard about it until about four years ago when my aunt insisted this was a film for me. She was right.
The short synopsis of the film is: A rich, teenage boy named Harold is plagued by ennui and only finds enjoyment from attending funerals of strangers and faking his own death for his mother who, understandably, doesn't find it entertaining in the least. The other half of the titular duo is Maude, a 59-year old woman who lives life to its fullest as a free spirit, doing as she pleases and who also takes enjoyment in attending the funerals of absolute strangers. The two meet, and Maude takes Harold under her wing to teach him that life should, every day, be lived to its fullest. In the process, the two fall in love.
Yes.
A 16-year old boy falls in love with a 59-year old woman. Let that sink in for a second. And in the process, H&M makes itself one of the creepiest films that purposefully sets itself apart from others by completely disregarding modern film tropes. I wish not to spoil the ending, but it is extraordinarily powerful and perfectly fitting.
So why even discuss this film, when it makes a point to give you both the heebies and the jeebies? It is not merely because it is obscure or makes us laugh in the face of Pointless Life holding hands with Riotous Humour. But because it has such a great message of living life to its fullest. Many people find solace in mulling about humdrum lives and not taking chances, and it is the actions of these people the film is opposed to. H&M does what every good piece of art should do: make Man step out of his life and examine it himself so that he can point out the trivialities in it, and then act upon them.
I start with this film because it helps in my cause. I choose with my actions to make people step back and criticize life for what it really is. By deviating from the norm (going to funerals, falling in love with someone four times your age) it makes one understand what it is to be human and how one can be able to become a derivation of that: human, but a new kind of human.
*Not all film reviews and analysis will be like this, but this is an excellent example of it.
Monday, April 21, 2008
This Spot Intentionally Left Blank
Eventually this will be replaced with actual reviews of obscure Television, Film, Theatre, Music, et. al.
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