November 06, 2008

Dear Owen Gleiberman,

I'm reading your review of "Let the Right One In", (published in Entertainment Weekly #1018) and wow, I can't believe how WRONG you got this one. The dude who kills people and drains their blood? He's neither an actual "serial killer" nor the vampire's father*. He's something like her butler, or her servant (or perhaps someone her vampire family entrusted to aid her). He goes out and kills people and drains their blood...TO FEED HER. So she doesn't go out killing people vampire-style and get caught and say, perhaps, staked in the heart.
Seriously,
I know it was in Swedish, but it wasn't that hard to understand,
CMS

*Certainly no one I saw it with thinks he's her 'father' and most vampires would acknowledge their 'father' as being the one who turned them.

Posted by Duff at 10:36 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Letters, Rags

July 16, 2008

Recommending Random Sampler Singles

For those three of you who are always asking me for new singles to check out...HERE YA GO.

Paste 39:

  • "Love During Wartime" The Main Drag
  • "Sweet to Mend" Heirloom Projector
  • "Ships" Tyler Ramsey"
  • "Fine Line" Little Big Town
  • "The Story of Benjamin Darling Part 1" State Radio
  • "Coat Check Dream Song" (Live version) Bright Eyes

Paste 40:

Paste 41:

  • "The Silence Between Us" Bob Mould
  • "Strawberry Street" Lili Hadyn
  • "Bye Bye Bye" Plants and Animals
  • "Punches" by Collin Herring
  • "Meet Me by the River" Matthew Ryan vs. the Silver State
  • "I Got a Thing for You" Jim Bianco
  • "Changing Your Mind" Bob Schneider
  • "Goodnight Girl" The Nadas
  • "Old Song" AM

Paste 42:

  • "Sing Again" Chris Walla
  • "Buildings & Mountains" The Republic Tigers
  • "Nobody Knows" Keaton Simons
  • "Antarctica" The Weepies
  • "Rebel Side of Heaven" Langhorne Slim
  • "Shooting Star and the Ambulance" Pete Francis
  • "This Girl" Jordan Zevon
  • "I Keep Faith" Billy Bragg
  • "Better Things" South
  • "She Held My Hand" Steven Delopoulos

Paste 43:

  • "Graveyard Girl" M83
  • "Be With Me" Foy Vance
  • "My Only Offer" Mates of State
  • "Get on With It" Val Emmich
  • "Mystery" Ashleigh Flynn
  • "Late Last Night" Robby Hecht
  • "Standing Bird" Love Psychedelico
  • "Jessi Jane" The Whipsaws

And if you need reference points*, we've got:
"Right Hand on My Heart" The Whigs ...sounds like... Springsteen! "Ghosts of Goodbye" Ford Turrell ...sounds like... Ryan Adams! "Bye Bye Bye" Plants and Animals ...sounds like... Arcade Fire! Or Ravens & Chimes! "I Got a Thing for You" Jim Bianco ...sounds like... Joe Cocker! Or Tom Waits! "Old Song" AM ...sounds like... Josh Rouse! "Nobody Knows" Keaton Simons ...sounds SASSY like... Jason Mraz! "Open Fire" Sara Mac Band ...sounds like... The Dixie Chicks! "Standing Bird" Love Psychedelico ...sounds A BIT like... The Dixie Chicks as well! "Jessie Jane" The Whipsaws ...sounds like... Lynyrd Skynrd!

* Note that ...sounds like... is a very loose term that may mean actually SOUNDS LIKE or may mean rather mean "reminds me (and no one else) of".

Posted by Duff at 11:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under ...Sounds Like..., Listenin', Rags, Recommending, Tunes

April 16, 2008

New (to me) Singles from Recent Paste Samplers

From Paste 37, I'm diggin':

If you like Regina Spektor and/or Ingrid Michaelson, try "Unmistakably Love" Stephanie's ID.

If you like The Fray, try "Swim" Jeremy Larson.

(Old Friends also recommended: "Take Me to the Riot" Stars; "Gone Gone Gone" Robert Plant & Alison Krauss [I can't listen to their album in one go, but I like it in individual songs].)


From Paste 38, I'm diggin':

  • "Foundations" Kate Nash
  • "I'll Follow You Tonight" Anna Terheim
  • "Have to Have Everything" Milton & The Devils Party
  • "The Cornflakes Song" (feat. Glen Phillips) Dick Prall
  • "Days" She Is So Beautiful/She Is So Blonde
  • "Brand New Love" Serena Ryder (minus the Jesus references)

I guess this one must've come out before Christmas since it ends with three Holiday songs. Doh. (I like "It Really Is (A Wonderful Life)" Mindy Smith.)

If you like The Fray and/or Five for Fighting, try "Do I Wake or Sleep?" Homer Hiccolm & The Rocketboys and "Wedding Crows" The Josh Davis Band.

If you like the Go-Gos, try "I Call on You" The TrolleyVox

(Old Friends also recommended: "100 Days, 100 Nights" Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings; "The Opposite of Hallelujah" Jens Lekman; "Second Chance" Liam Finn .)

Posted by Duff at 03:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Tunes

February 27, 2008

Quoted / Slammed.

Awesome "put them in their place" quotes from Nick Marino's piece on "Thriller"/Michael Jackson in Paste #40:

Not long ago I caught a concert by teenaged R&B star Chris Brown, who is sort of a less charismatic verson of Usher, who is himself a less charismatic version fo Michael Jackson.

Today we're left with Chris Brown, Usher and Justin Timberlake, whose most famous stage move to date involved ripping the bodice of Michael Jackson's sister.

[Underlines = emphasis de moi]

Posted by Duff at 09:14 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lit Quotes, Rags, Tunes

January 02, 2008

Fueling the Celebrity Obsession

  • KC re-upped my subscription to US Weekly for the new year. (I have to keep track of my celebrity boyfriends somehow!)
  • Whatever you think of her and Tom Cruise's marriage, the photos of Katie Holmes in the recent InStyle (you know, the one with her on the cover) are gorgeous. Her new hair has been photoed fugly elsewhere but it looks lovely as here, as well as the dresses they put her in.
  • And as for Julia Roberts in Vanity Fair, I didn't particularly enjoy any of the pictures but I did really enjoy some of the things she said. Seems she's really just hit a sweet spot where she's happy and things are great and I loved some of the quotes and ideas she's thinking about. "I've never met a cookie I didn't like."
  • Julia talks for a moment about Natalie Portman, who herself recently did an InStyle cover/article, which gives a link to a great charity organization, Shoe 4 Africa. I'll be shipping them my old tennies whenever I buy new ones (shipping info at the link) considering when I buy new ones because the old ones are "too worn out to wear to the gym anymore b/c the support is gone" they are still fine to be "worn" just not to the gym!

Posted by Duff at 05:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Rags

December 04, 2007

Selected Sampler Singles - Paste #36

New (to me) Songs/Artists I'm Diggin:
"A Sunday Smile" Beirut (1)
"Goes Around" Rockfour
"The Ritz" Office
"Eyes Like a Levee" Johnny Irion (2)
"Snakebit" Mary Gauthier
"Rise" (acoustic) Will Dailey
"You're a Wolf" Sea Wolf (3)
"Civil Twilight" the Weatherthans

New (4) Songs by Old Friends:
"Scar That Never Heals" Jeremy Fisher (5)
"One Crowded Hour" Augie March (6)
"Time Is a Lion" Joe Henry

from Paste #36.


1-Old news, right? People kept mentioning Beirut to me but I never got
around to checking him out.
2-Wow! Love it!
3-Rambles along, I like how it picks up toward the end.
4-Or new when the magazine came out...months ago! :)
5-Got this ages ago from Fuel/Friends. Love it.
6-Australians, picked up an older album of theirs on Mariko's and my trip.

Posted by Duff at 05:38 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Tunes

Self-fulfilling prophecies.

"I used to write really shitty, gloomy songs about how everything sucked," he says, "but I realized that everything sucked because I wrote those songs. My music controlled me much more than I controlled my music."

--Jens Lekman, as interviewed by Austin L. Ray, in Paste #37.

Posted by Duff at 09:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lit Quotes, Rags

November 15, 2007

Selected Sampler Singles - Paste #35

New (to me) Songs/Artists I'm Diggin:
"None Shall Pass" Aesop Rock (1)
"Our Friends Appear Like the Dawn" Bodies of Water (4)
"Beloved" Minnie Driver (5)
"Bad Graces" Diego Sandrin (7)
"One Man" Eulogies

New (2) Songs by Old Friends:
"Car Crash" Matt Nathanson (3)
"Rumors" Josh Ritter (3)
"Trouble" Over the Rhine
"Black Out on White Nights" Sage Francis (6)
"Darlin' Do Not Fear" Brett Dennen
"Hamoa Beach" (Live) Gomez

from Paste #35.

1-Hmm, I bought this album but not sure I ever listened to it.
2-Or new when the magazine came out...months ago! :)
3-I am diggin' these two big time this year. Lots of great stuff by them out there.
4-Very Polyphonic-Spree feelin'.
5-This song is really kind of surprisingly beautiful.
6-Very atmospheric background. Unusual for rap.
7-Nice and sparse, simple seeming, but pretty unusual lyrics.

Posted by Duff at 03:21 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Recommending, Tunes

Ben Bridwell recommends.

Bridwell of Band of Horses on Pitchfork's Guest List (link via LargeHearted Boy).

I'm going to check out:
Tunes: A Decent Animal
Book: "Joe: A Novel" by Larry Brown.

Posted by Duff at 10:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Rags, Tunes

October 24, 2007

Selected Sampler Singles - Paste #34

New (to me) Songs I'm Diggin:
"The Underdog" Spoon (not new today, but this sampler is where I first heard it)
"White Dove" John Vanderslice
"Put a Penny in the Slow" Fionn Regan (folksy, rolling guitar)
"Better People" Xavier Rudd (oh man this is so reminding me of something but I just can't quite put my finger on it...)
"Parsons White" Phonograph
"Black Skies for the High & Mighty" Wrinkle Neck Mules (straight up country)
"Postcard from Kentucky" Rocky Votolato
"Oh Mary Don't You Weep" Mike Farris (can I get a witness?)
"I Believe" Peter Searcy (anthemic)
"If You're Gonna Leave" Emerson Hart (melancholy)
"Run" Renee Stahl (a little like Eliza Carthy)

Old Friends:
"Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" Okkervil River


from Paste #34.

Posted by Duff at 10:22 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Recommending, Tunes

October 16, 2007

Selected Sampler Singles - Paste #32

New (to me) Songs I'm Diggin':
"I Wanna Marry You All Over Again" Derek Webb (country twang)
"Ordinary Day" Dolores O'Riordan
"It's Not True" William Fitzsimmons (ouch, so tender)
"Just Around the Corner" Low Stars (rockabilly)
"Somewhere to Lay Down" Gina Villalobos (husky)
"Run Run Run" Haunt
"14" Paula Cole (I never buy her albums, but I like select singles!)

Old Friends:
"Everybody Knows" Ryan Adams
"Closer" Travis
"Who You Are" Cary Brothers

from Paste 32.

Posted by Duff at 01:21 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Tunes

September 25, 2007

Unbelievable yet, sad to say, actually believable.

A 2006 poll showed that atheists are the group most feared by the public as a threat to the American way of life ("below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians," according to the study's press release.

--Paste Magazine, issue #34, in the article on Greg Graffin of Bad Religion.

The people who voted that way in that poll? They're the ones that scare me!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Duff at 03:11 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lit Quotes, Rags

June 26, 2007

African Stories.

If you're looking for recommendations on the "new generation" of African authors, the July issue of Vanity Fair profiles eight of the former "Lions" and 11 or so of the "new wave." If you can't find the issue, I'll let you borrow it.

I, of course, am far more familiar with the old guard. I've never forgotten "Burger's Daughter" (Nadine Gordimer) which I read many, many years ago and I've read a few books by J.M. Coetzee. Although one author I read recently is on the new wave list....

(This issue also contains a 1-pager by Bill Clinton on Mandela and their joint HIV efforts that brought tears to my eyes. And a very interesting expose on Diana [P. of W.].)

Posted by Duff at 01:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Rags

June 22, 2007

Paste 31 Sampler, a girl (song-by-song) reaction.

Overall feeling: The Hold Steady book-ends label this one more "rock" than anything else but there is a bit of variation.

Track by track:

  • "Massive Nights" The Hold Steady: This isn't my favorite Hold Steady song (or album). But you can never go wrong starting off a mix with a Craig Finn rant (which is how I think of their songs).
  • "Been There All the Time" Dinosaur Jr: I love the plaintive, pleading tone of the vocals, not what you expect in a rock song. Can I be a part of you? ... Can I be there all the time?
  • "Killing Him" Amy LaVere: Total change in musical mood. Quiet, speakeasy feelin'.
  • "Die Die Die" The Avett Brothers: Crystal clear lyrics/vocals, the music is very much in the background. The harmonies here crack me up.
  • "Get It On" Grinderman: Back to (heavier) rock. Demanding, insistent.
  • "Diamond Ring" Joseph Arthur: Love this song. Love him. Is he single? I'll be his diamond ring.
  • "Lay Your Head Down" Keren Ann: Pretty enough. But not really doing it for me.
  • "Gor Det Nu" Dungen: Headbanger's ball mixed with old Rolling Stones.
  • "Baby's Romance" Chris Garneau: Ooooo, I like this. Very soft and tender.
  • "It Must Have Happened" Mary Chapin Carpenter: How long has it been since I listened to MCC? Her voice isn't how I remember it (deeper? gruffer?). Not really doing it for me here.
  • "Big Drag" Limbeck: Very thinly layered verses. Sparse.
  • "Passenger Song" Great Lake Swimmers: I love everything they do. Thick, dense, low sounds. Lovely.
  • "I'll Be Rested" Mavis Staples: Very goofy xylophone-ish sounding beginning. Her voice is amazing.
  • "Don't Let Go" Pacha Massive: Dance beat. Shake that ass. But the vocals are not living up to the music's promise of liveliness.
  • "Man Overboard" Kristoffer Ragnstam: Another goofy beginning. Spoken word/rappish feel. Think "The Streets" or "Just Jack."
  • "Rest Your Weary Mind" Elizabeth Cook (with Bobby Bare Jr): Lil bit of country. The male vocal is very Johnny Cash (yum) but the female is too contrasty for me / almost operatic.
  • "Life Is Beautiful" Vega4: Knew this song from a TV show. Slowing things down. Sad and melancholy. Sounds a lot like Snow Patrol (which is a good thing in my book).
  • "V Neck Sweater" The Greyboy Allstars: Jazzy feel. Nice beat! Groovin'.
  • "If I Were You" Chris Knight: Quiet and contemplative. Twangy, yet kinda sweet.
  • "Kite Song" Rosie Thomas: Slowing things waaaaay down. I like her stuff sometimes, but not consistently, and this one is kinda makin' me sleepy. Doesn't seem to belong here.
  • "Stuck Between Stations" (acoustic) The Hold Steady: And we're back to Craig Finn. I love the lyrics of this song. But the speed with which they are ranted totally(!) makes me think of REM and back, back, back in the day...

Posted by Duff at 09:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Tunes

June 21, 2007

Paste 30 Sampler, a girl (song-by-song) reaction.

Overall feeling: More on the country, folksy side of things than some of their discs. No songs I absolutely can't stand (woot). Generally diggin'.

Track by track:

  • "We're from Barcelona" I'm from Barcelona: pop-y and fun.
  • "Can't Stop" Ozomatli: OK. Kinda weird.
  • "Everyone Gets a Star" Albert Hammond Jr.: Monotone vocals. Cool sound. But not a fave.
  • "Nowhere Warm" Kate Havenick: For the Sarah McLachlan/Beth Orton/Jem lovers out there. Pretty voice.
  • "Four Winds" Bright Eyes: Very country.
  • "Memories of Home" Umphrey McGee: Even more country.
  • "Remember Me" Zach Brooke: Country, but more up, with a real driving beat.
  • "With You" Stars of Track and Field: Synth/electronic. Wistful. Pleading.
  • "Soft Aslyum (No Way Out)" Grant-Lee Phillips: Soft. A little droan-y. I tend to like his stuff, even though I've never listened beyond random singles that come my way.
  • "Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning" The Innocence Mission: Real Suzanne Vega feel to it.
  • "Blue Jeans Pizza" Moe: Jazzy sounds. Very goofy falsetto vocals.
  • "A Good Start" Maria Taylor: Spooky, layered beginning. Nice lyrics!
  • "Gulf of Mexico Fishing Boat Blus" Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs: Feels like bluegrass.
  • "Trans Am" Nathan: Female vocal? Sweet. But feels a little frantic.
  • "Happy" Martin Sexton: Very sharp, distinctive edge to the lead.
  • "Save Myself" Willy Mason: Lyrics vs. music feels disconnected. Droan-y.
  • "Come Undone" Jackson Water: Can't tell if the lead vocal is male or female but love the thick, rich tone to it. Anthemic feel.

There ya have it.

Posted by Duff at 02:14 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Rags, Tunes

December 27, 2006

Curiosity Levels Increase.

It's when the coincidental mentions start to build up that I start to get interested. Reading the Q&A w/ Sufjan Stevens in the current Rolling Stone (issue 1016/1017), under "what is he listening to now" he mentions Midlake "The Trials of Van Occupanther." Midlake, Midlake, I think to myself, haven't I heard that name recently? Sure enough, a search of Snip (a snip search!) finds it's an album that was discussed in Paste Magazine issue #23 and there's a song on the sampler CD. A song I really like...

Hmmmmm, seems I may have to do some further (listening) research into this band...

Posted by Duff at 12:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Rags, Tunes

November 08, 2006

Things to Think About from the Reader's Fall Book Issue.

  • Sci fi by "James TipTree"
  • "James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon" by Julie Phillips
  • "The Echo Maker" by Richard Powers
  • "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn (EW's TV writer - I already bought this one, it's in the queue.)

Posted by Duff at 10:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Rags

October 05, 2006

Books to Consider from Slightly Foxed #11

  • L'Etranger, by Albert Camus (have I never read this?)
  • Modesty Blaise books, by Peter O'Donnell (a fictional Emma Peel!)
  • Asylum Piece or Julie and the Bazooka, by Anna Kavan
  • Stranger on Earth, bio of Anna Kavan, by Jeremy Reed
  • The Leopard, by Guiseppe di Lampedusa
  • The Papers of A.J. Wentworth B.A., by H.F. Ellis

Posted by Duff at 08:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Rags