Chan Marshall: Sober, still crazy.

Stratford-on-Guy

I think about this song whenever I fly in or out of Chicago.

Afternoon Delights

This morning was kinda shitty, and I wrote a couple of drafts but they were all kind of whiny and boring, blah blah blah. Then I discovered that I have one less friend on Facebook, MySpace, GoodReads, and Netflix than I did two days ago, and that didn't make me feel any better.

But then, on my way to meet Rachel for lunch, I saw two Lamborghinis and realized my day was going to get better. That's good luck!

Rachel and I had a great lunch and it made our day much better (she told me she tried - and failed - to quit her job this morning). And now I may actually have plans to hang out with friends tonight, instead of my earlier plan to drink a bottle of Syrah and watched Enchanted. Saved!

I also bought tickets for Sweeney Todd, which comes to Chicago on its national tour in a month. I'm super excited, and just spent a good half-hour watching scenes from it on YouTube, as I am wont to do.

I heard the rest in your head.

(Previously deleted, but put back because Jackie bitched about not being able to leave a comment. FINE.)

From the Obvious Department

From yesterday's post:



I don't even have a response to this. And I will go back to my personal blogging hiatus and post a video of Kate Bush and interpretive dance.



(PS. Thank you, Brit, for posting the Chromatics cover of this song - now I know I don't hate Kate Bush after all.)

I've had that goddamn Yelle song stuck in my head.

And then I discovered this:



The Yelle video is daffy enough, but this version really takes the cake. First of all, it's some weird French version of the Go-Gos, heavily influenced by Robert Palmer? And it's a live-action version of the video for Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing?"

In any case, the song is catchy, in a somewhat annoying way. I have a theory that Yelle is only hip right now because she's singing in French; I bet if we could understand what the hell she was saying, people wouldn't like her so much.

Odds & Ends

Until last night, I had not bought a pack of cigarettes all year. I smoked one last weekend, but it was the first I'd had in over a month. For some reason (read: beer), I really wanted one last night. I got off the train at Bryn Mawr a little after midnight and said to myself, "No. You are not going to buy cigarettes." And then I stepped out of the station and discovered a wad of bills on the ground. The street was completely deserted and silent (of COURSE I looked around), and I picked them up. Eight dollars! I felt like it was a sign. I went right into Walgreens and bought a pack of Parliament lights. And I smoked one and immediately regretted it. It wasn't even enjoyable! So I do not resent my desire to quit, and I think that'll be the last cigarette I have for a long time. Unfortunately, I now have nineteen more to get rid of. Any takers?

The Ice Storm is now on Criterion Collection. What a brilliant way to talk about how it's the first day of Spring and Chicago is expecting six inches of snow tonight! Hurrah!



I already own The Ice Storm on VHS and DVD, but it's Criterion! And one of my favorites! (I have a problem.)

Finally, if you apply for an internship at Megan's company, she will make fun of you and then lock you in the stairwell:

Megan: also, we're testing the intern (the one i didn't like) for a full time job
Megan: oh i told you that
Megan: i'm grading his test now
me: wait, the hot guy?
Megan: yeah
me: you don't like him?
Megan: hottish. hot in a short, jewish way. he looked much hotter in his facebook pictures
Megan: no, he made me very uncomfortable
me: hahaha
Megan: and i locked him in the stairwell four times accidentally. he probably holds it against me
me: FOUR times?
Megan: yes
Megan: well he kept coming up the stairs in the morning, but the doors are all locked
Megan: and he'd leave a message on my office phone
Megan: but i don't check my messages ever!
Megan: so, he would be in there until i realized he was missing
Megan: it took 20 minutes once
me: jesus, megan.

Even Prince at his worst can prove incredibly influential.

Last night I went to Berlin for Jackie's b-day (which was the THIRD Friday in a row I've gone there, which seems weird to me), and I had a blast. The DJ played one of the new Hot Chip videos, which I've had in my head all day, and now I think I need to go see them live in March.

Observe the fantastic video:



Also, related:

"Is that chocolate or poop?" is my catchphrase for 2008.

My CLOSE, PERSONAL FRIEND, Julie Klausner, emailed me (and most likely a hundred other people, whatevs) with the great news of a new video, which is hilarious and informative!



Also, the trailer for the 30Rock movie Baby Mama, which kills me every time I watch it.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Spring Break

First of all, I think it is a crime that there are some people in this country (I'm not naming names, but some that are VERY CLOSE TO ME) who have not heard "Strawberry Wine," which is perhaps the most important country song released in the 1990s. So, for those of you NOT IN THE KNOW (and probably leading sad lives because of it), here's the video for it.



And, since I'm sharing, I happened to finally see Spring Break Shark Attack tonight, and I swear, it exceeded my expectations. For all of you chumming fetishists, this film is for you. Bonus points if you love Kathy Baker as much as I do!

Two clips of this great achievement in cinema made-for-TV film history:

The Way I Are.

Christina told me last night that after re-watching Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988), she discovered why she feels like a gay man trapped in a young woman's body (culturally speaking, of course). To make her point, she told me to find this video, which features Grace Jones singing "The Little Drummer Boy."



Personally, I blame her parents for letting her watch so many reruns of The Love Boat, but who am I to judge?

We also spent about an hour on YouTube watching old Sesame Street clips. I told her that this video explains why I am who I am:



"What child gets excited about all of those celebrity cameos?" she asked. Clearly, that child was me; I loved Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito.


An aside: my father still loves "Put Down the Duckie."

And I realized my hatred for a capella stems from these dudes:



UGH HATE.

I have a couple of other favorite Sesame clips, such as this one where Patti Labelle sings "How I Miss My X."



Do you see what they did there?

And finally, I've always wanted to be this little girl's BFF:

Albums of the Year: #1. Feist - The Reminder

I absolutely adore this album. I'm willing to look past Feist as a performer and a person, and the Starbucks affiliation, as well as the iPod ads, and focus solely on this collection because, in my opinion, it's an A+ record.

I've been a fan of Feist after I got a bootleg copy of Let It Die in 2004. It was her second album, and despite her work with Broken Social Scene, it was the one that gained her some indie credibility. It was a good album, but it was kind of touch-and-go. There were some stand-out tracks, like "Mushaboom" and "Let It Die," but the she had the tendency to slip into a mom-rock /soft-pop feel, which ultimately turned her off. Seeing her live, however, made me realize that she did have potential as an artist, and The Reminder solidifies that.

On a personal level, this album hit me hard. For reasons both good and bad, I'll always associate this album with what I was going through when it was first released at the end of April, when I was still dealing with a tough break-up, depressed and angry about everything. Not to mention my fruitless job search was underway, and my father had recently started cancer treatments. It was a rough couple of months, and this album guided me through it with songs like "Past in Present," "The Limit to Your Love," and "How My Heart Behaves." And there were the up-beat songs, too, like "1234," and "I Feel It All."

This album is pretty perfect, and easily shot to the number one spot in my favorites list early this year. I could care less about Feist at this point, but The Reminder will always hold a place in my heart for reminding me that I got through a shitty, shitty time and came out on top.

Video: "1234" (Duh.)

Albums of the Year: #2. The National - Boxer

I'm rather disappointed that I didn't know more about The National before Boxer was released. I'd certainly heard of them, but for some reason I was never interested in listening to them. Per Adam's suggestion, I gave this one a try, and immediately fell in love with it. It's one of the few albums this year that I've been able to listen to on a loop without getting tired of it. I can't really explain what about it is so appealing to me, but I find myself getting sucked in whenever I press Play.

Video: "Slow Show" (fan video)

Albums of the Year: #3. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

I discovered Bright Eyes shortly after the release of Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground back in 2002. It was my first introduction into indie-rock, and it's still one of my favorite albums. Cassadaga is no Lifted, but it's pretty damn close. It features similar moments of huge orchestrations, guest-spots from other Saddle Creek band members, as well as Maria Taylor, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, M. Ward, Rachel Yamagata, and Janet Weiss. Like previous Bright Eyes records, Cassadaga focuses on both the internal and the political. "Four Winds" is an especially brilliant protest song, both musically and lyrically; it never gets too preachy, and keeps a level head in regard to its ideology. The rest of the album is brilliant, and one of Bright Eyes' best efforts.

Video: "Hot Knives"

Albums of the Year: #4. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

Andrew Bird makes fascinating music that isn't so complicated and ambitious that you can't listen to it. He manages to layer on several instruments, samples, vocals, and whistling without overwhelming his audience. And he's got tremendous talent, which sometimes doesn't come out on his albums as much as it does when you see him live. I didn't really notice how powerful his whistling is until I saw him last year; it simply blew me away to know that it wasn't being augmented electronically. Armchair Apocrypha is ambitious in the sense that it features collaboration with Martin Dosh, who provides some gut-busting drums and a buttload of samples to compliment Bird's songs. It may not be the instant classic that The Mysterious Production of Eggs was, but I think it'll stand up on its own as Bird progresses musically. (And he gets points for having the best cover art of the year.)

Video: "Imitosis" (live in Paris)

Albums of the Year: #5. PJ Harvey - White Chalk

White Chalk is an extreme departure for Polly Jean, as she wrote the entire album on piano, which she learned while she wrote her songs. It's not the typical alternative-rock / PJ Harvey album, but it's still just as strong as her previous efforts. It's supposedly inspired by her childhood in Dorset, England, which seems appropriate as Harvey sings in a much higher register than she's used to, giving a very childlike, yet ultimately haunting, feel. In places her falsetto is wavering, yet it's impressive in others. It's a quite beautiful album, and probably ranks as one of my favorites of PJ's.

Video: "White Chalk / Silence" (live on Later... with Jools Holland)

Albums of the Year: #6. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

It seems like such a long time since Arcade Fire released Neon Bible, probably because the hype and expectations for it were huge. The sounds on the album are just as huge: it's bold and brash with gorgeous orchestrations. You can tell with this album that frontman Win Butler is heavily influenced by Springsteen (and maybe Eddie and the Cruisers?), which is alright with me. Like Springsteen, Arcade Fire's songs tend to make observations about our culture, ranging from religion, war, and pop music.

Video: "Intervention / (Antichrist Television Blues)" (BBC2 Session)

Albums of the Year: #7. The New Pornographers - Challengers

There's nothing new I can say about The New Pornographers, or Challengers. It took a while to grow on me, possibly because it's pretty similar to their last album, Twin Cinema. After seeing them live, however, I couldn't stop listening to it. They're a perfect pop-group, and this is a pretty damn good pop record (even if "pop" wouldn't be the word most would use to describe them). The group sure can blend together some beautiful harmonies and make some spunky music. And this album seems more of Carl Newman's baby than the others, even if a lot of people think of The New Pornos as "Neko Case's band."

Video: "Challengers"

Albums of the Year: #8. Grinderman - Grinderman

Grinderman could have just been another album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (the band includes most of the Bad Seeds). Had it been released ten years ago, it would have made perfect sense. But as Nick Cave has gotten older, his albums started to get softer. After 1996's Murder Ballads, Cave began writing ballads and love songs, seen primarily in The Boatman's Call (influenced by his breakup with PJ Harvey) and his last album, the two-part Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus. Grinderman represents a middle-age crisis sort of record; Cave learned to play guitar, and the result was a jerky, loud collection of garage-rock songs.

Video: "No Pussy Blues" (live on Later... with Jools Holland)

Albums of the Year: #9. M.I.A. - Kala

Despite the atrocious album cover, M.I.A.'s Kala is fantastic. It's also as complicated as Maya Arulpragasam is herself. It transcends genres, going from world music to hip-hop to electronica. It's political, bashing the West at the same time it asks for acceptance. The production is huge, at times sampling Bollywood and disco in the backing tracks, juxtaposing gun shots and cash register ca-chings, and featuring guest spots from Afrikan Boy and Timbaland. It's tough, natch, to categorize M.I.A. and her music; her American audience is more indie-rock inclined, probably because, compared to other hip-hop artists, her themes are so political and worldly. Seeing her last month in Chicago was surprising; I'll be the first to admit I don't see many hip-hop shows, and, as I expected, the mostly-white audience seemed to be filled with people who would be just as likely to attend any other indie-rock show. Her following aside, M.I.A. manages to produce post-Colonialist hip-hop, finally making Edward Said's Orientalism relevant to a jaded, superficially political hipster culture.

Video: "Bird Flu"