No, not that Pandora, I already reviewed that one. By the way - did anyone see the "Avatar" re-release? All I ever really heard about it was that they extended the "sex" scene. Meh.
Anyways - I was listening to Pandora (internet radio station you build) at my little desk yesterday. The radio station selected was my Rilo Kiley one with Ben Folds thrown in. So...I'm scanning along in my little hole and "Question" by the Old 97's comes on. I immediately switch back to my browser window so I can click on "Like" as fast as possible - and it's already been selected. Good ear, Pandora.
The thing about this song is - it just makes me feel right. And like everything in the world is right for 2 minutes. As soon as the opening riff started I gasped out loud and just drifted away for a moment to the scene where I imagine this song taking place. It's simple, just guitar and vocals, verse-chorus-verse-chorus, but it packs an emotional, sentimental punch. This song is just perfection.
Here's the chorus (I'll sing it to you any time you like):
Someday somebody's gonna ask you
A question that you should say 'yes' to
Once in your life
Maybe tonight
I've got a question for you
Pair this with the tall drink of water that is Rhett Miller and the way he sways his hips when he plays guitar and I am done.
Other Old 97's faves:
* "Rollerskate Skinny" (my fave)
* "Great Barrier Reef" (my husband's fave)
* "Nineteen"
* "Firefly" (inspiration for my myspace and absolutepunk names - haha! so punk, right?!)
UPDATE - I wandered over to their website after I initially posted this entry and discovered they have a new album coming out on October 12th. Can't wait! Mr. Ken Bethea does a great, quick breakdown on all of the songs on their homepage (and Rhett Miller has a videoblog from the offices of Dunder-Mifflin! That's right, MB, I said it.).
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Catfish
My husband and I found ourselves in the luxurious position of having no plans this past Friday night. So...we began discussing possibilities and I mentioned casually maybe we could go to the movies and there's this cool-looking movie showing at the Alamo South Lamar...and my husband exclaimed, "I saw that on News 8 this morning and I want to see it, too!" We are just too adorable like that. Fortunately I bought tickets that afternoon online because it was sold out by the time we got there.
The aforementioned film is a documentary entitled "Catfish." The film reviewer on News 8 posed it as one of the 2 movies about facebook coming out this fall - but it is much more than that. The documentary follows Nev Schulman as he is being filmed by his brother, Rel, and Henry Joost (the 2 filmmakers and Nev share an office space in NYC). They decide to film Nev as he embarks on a relationship that begins on facebook and proceeds to mail, phone, gchat, and eventually a face-to-face meeting. Again, as the reviewer mentioned, this is one of those cases where "truth is stranger than fiction." He even went so far as to say that it's more of a reality-documentary - meaning it's more free-form and less agenda-driven than most documentaries.
My husband and I both enjoyed the film immensely. It unfolds in such a dramatic way and really tries to remain honest while pointing out some obvious flaws in social networking in the internet age. It was also laugh-out-loud funny, shocking in a jaw-dropping sort of way, and emotional. Somehow I felt it all in the span of 90 or so minutes. Kudos to Nev for laying it all out there for us.
There has also been some controversy surrounding "Catfish" - other viewers (famously Morgan Spurlock and Zach Galifianakis) have called its authenticity into question. However, the 3 of them claim that everything happened as it played out on screen - no script, no actors, none of it (unlike "I'm Still Here," Casey Affleck's 'documentary' about Joaquin Phoenix - is anyone going to see that?). I wouldn't suggest seeking out articles on the controversy if you haven't seen the documentary yet as it may spoil the big reveal.
I say - get out and see this one if it shows up near you. I thought about it all weekend and am really glad we were able to see it.
Also - I had one of the specials at Alamo South Lamar at the urging of our waitress. It was spaghetti squash, zucchini, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese with garlic bread and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD. Check out the specials if you can, is what I learned on Friday.
The aforementioned film is a documentary entitled "Catfish." The film reviewer on News 8 posed it as one of the 2 movies about facebook coming out this fall - but it is much more than that. The documentary follows Nev Schulman as he is being filmed by his brother, Rel, and Henry Joost (the 2 filmmakers and Nev share an office space in NYC). They decide to film Nev as he embarks on a relationship that begins on facebook and proceeds to mail, phone, gchat, and eventually a face-to-face meeting. Again, as the reviewer mentioned, this is one of those cases where "truth is stranger than fiction." He even went so far as to say that it's more of a reality-documentary - meaning it's more free-form and less agenda-driven than most documentaries.
My husband and I both enjoyed the film immensely. It unfolds in such a dramatic way and really tries to remain honest while pointing out some obvious flaws in social networking in the internet age. It was also laugh-out-loud funny, shocking in a jaw-dropping sort of way, and emotional. Somehow I felt it all in the span of 90 or so minutes. Kudos to Nev for laying it all out there for us.
There has also been some controversy surrounding "Catfish" - other viewers (famously Morgan Spurlock and Zach Galifianakis) have called its authenticity into question. However, the 3 of them claim that everything happened as it played out on screen - no script, no actors, none of it (unlike "I'm Still Here," Casey Affleck's 'documentary' about Joaquin Phoenix - is anyone going to see that?). I wouldn't suggest seeking out articles on the controversy if you haven't seen the documentary yet as it may spoil the big reveal.
I say - get out and see this one if it shows up near you. I thought about it all weekend and am really glad we were able to see it.
Also - I had one of the specials at Alamo South Lamar at the urging of our waitress. It was spaghetti squash, zucchini, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese with garlic bread and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD. Check out the specials if you can, is what I learned on Friday.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Re-invigorated?
I stumbled upon an article on msnbc.com last week about the dearth of "Oscar movies" so far this year. While reading the article I felt inspired to make an appearance on my long-neglected blog and regale you, my faithful readers (reader? singular?), with my thoughts. I was so inspired I even made a little trip over to my tried-and-true Oscar-watch blog, "Little Gold Men" on vanityfair.com to uncover some more possibilities for you. Alas - no Oscar bait over there yet. So we'll press onward with this little nugget.
Of the films mentioned - I've seen two. Oops! I need to continue to hang out at the Arbor after the first week in March, I suppose. Instead I (along with my husband and parents) made my way to the 4-screen theater in Bastrop (where my parents live) on a steamy July day to see Toy Story 3. Unfortunately, I missed the beginning of the short because at this particular theater I HAVE to get a refreshment from the concession stand. Why, do you ask? Because they serve Red Flash (Coca-Cola's answer to Big Red - I'll drink either). Anyways, once the children in the theatre settled down and I settled in (and stopped freaking out about the number of children in the theater), the movie swept me away. What a sweet, bittersweet, honest ending to a wonderful franchise. It was appropriate and fun and still had a great message. While I didn't get to see it in 3D (see aforementioned theater), I don't know that that could have made it any better. The article discussed that this may be another Pixar Best Picture contender now that the ban on animated films being nominated in that category has been lifted.
Towards the end of the summer, my husband and I began taking advantage of his summer off and my Friday afternoons off by catching a matinee movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. It was a really fun thing to do together. The film that started this date ball rolling was Inception, the psychological thriller by Christopher Nolan. I know the hipster thing to do is bash this movie, but I don't care. I loved it. I loved that my husband and I spent the whole weekend discussing it and turning it over and basically just thinking about it. I loved being able to suspend my disbelief for a few hours to enter Nolan's dreamworld, literally. The acting performances are excellent and include a well-rounded ensemble cast of characters from across the board. I definitely see the blu-ray of this movie sitting on our shelf in the near future.
The other films mentioned were The Kids Are All Right, Restrepo, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Winter's Bone, The Social Network, True Grit (filmed in and around Austin!), and Hereafter. I'll be honest with you, I've only even heard of half of them and I definitely missed The Kids Are All Right in the theaters. I have a feeling we'll get there, though.
Outside of these films, the one we watched most recently was The Ghost Writer. This is a film directed by Roman Polanski starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, and Kim Cattrall (and her dreadful British accent). The film is based on a book by Robert Harris and is a thinly veiled criticism of Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister (so thin that I even picked up on it and I know precious little about international politics). It is a stark, muted movie set on the stormy Massachusetts coast and follows a ghost-writer (Ewan McGregor) working on the former British Prime Minister's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. As the writer stumbles on his predecessor's (recently deceased under suspicious circumstances) research into the underbelly of this politician's life, he discovers more than he bargains for and begins to fear for his life. It is a very interesting movie, albeit a slow build, but one worth watching. The scuttlebutt is that while some of the performances may get nominations for Academy Awards, no one would dare nominate Polanski or this film in their respective categories due to his recent troubles.
The other movie popping up around Austin with Oscar buzz is one called Get Low. This movie stars Robert Duvall and Bill Murray and involves a crochety old man (Duvall) planning his funeral to be staged before he dies. Some say there's a nomination in it for Duvall. I say, maybe it's time to head out to the Arbor...
Of the films mentioned - I've seen two. Oops! I need to continue to hang out at the Arbor after the first week in March, I suppose. Instead I (along with my husband and parents) made my way to the 4-screen theater in Bastrop (where my parents live) on a steamy July day to see Toy Story 3. Unfortunately, I missed the beginning of the short because at this particular theater I HAVE to get a refreshment from the concession stand. Why, do you ask? Because they serve Red Flash (Coca-Cola's answer to Big Red - I'll drink either). Anyways, once the children in the theatre settled down and I settled in (and stopped freaking out about the number of children in the theater), the movie swept me away. What a sweet, bittersweet, honest ending to a wonderful franchise. It was appropriate and fun and still had a great message. While I didn't get to see it in 3D (see aforementioned theater), I don't know that that could have made it any better. The article discussed that this may be another Pixar Best Picture contender now that the ban on animated films being nominated in that category has been lifted.
Towards the end of the summer, my husband and I began taking advantage of his summer off and my Friday afternoons off by catching a matinee movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. It was a really fun thing to do together. The film that started this date ball rolling was Inception, the psychological thriller by Christopher Nolan. I know the hipster thing to do is bash this movie, but I don't care. I loved it. I loved that my husband and I spent the whole weekend discussing it and turning it over and basically just thinking about it. I loved being able to suspend my disbelief for a few hours to enter Nolan's dreamworld, literally. The acting performances are excellent and include a well-rounded ensemble cast of characters from across the board. I definitely see the blu-ray of this movie sitting on our shelf in the near future.
The other films mentioned were The Kids Are All Right, Restrepo, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Winter's Bone, The Social Network, True Grit (filmed in and around Austin!), and Hereafter. I'll be honest with you, I've only even heard of half of them and I definitely missed The Kids Are All Right in the theaters. I have a feeling we'll get there, though.
Outside of these films, the one we watched most recently was The Ghost Writer. This is a film directed by Roman Polanski starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, and Kim Cattrall (and her dreadful British accent). The film is based on a book by Robert Harris and is a thinly veiled criticism of Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister (so thin that I even picked up on it and I know precious little about international politics). It is a stark, muted movie set on the stormy Massachusetts coast and follows a ghost-writer (Ewan McGregor) working on the former British Prime Minister's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. As the writer stumbles on his predecessor's (recently deceased under suspicious circumstances) research into the underbelly of this politician's life, he discovers more than he bargains for and begins to fear for his life. It is a very interesting movie, albeit a slow build, but one worth watching. The scuttlebutt is that while some of the performances may get nominations for Academy Awards, no one would dare nominate Polanski or this film in their respective categories due to his recent troubles.
The other movie popping up around Austin with Oscar buzz is one called Get Low. This movie stars Robert Duvall and Bill Murray and involves a crochety old man (Duvall) planning his funeral to be staged before he dies. Some say there's a nomination in it for Duvall. I say, maybe it's time to head out to the Arbor...
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