I'm Sundancing As Fast As I Can

If anyone is on the fence about whether Sundance is worth the expense, or the time, or the effort, my answer to that is a resounding “YES”. You have to do it at least once, assuming you’re a film buff. If you’re not, I wouldn’t bother. As much as star searching is part of the fun, it’s a secondary bonus to actually seeing the movies in packed houses with a captive audience.

Our trip began bright and early Thursday morning. The first film, “Sympathy for Delicious” was starting at 8:30, so we needed to leave Farrah’s parent’s house in Bountiful by about 6:45 to get to Park City, park the car, walk to the theater, and get a good seat. This turned out to be easier than we thought it would be. Parking was 10 bucks each time, so we stayed in one spot all day, and the free shuttle service is excellent. And, at the very worst, the many theaters aren’t that far apart so even walking from one film to the next is some nice exercise.

“Delicious” was directed by Mark Ruffalo (his directing debut) and written by actor Christopher Thornton. They had been friends in acting school 16 years ago when Chris became a paraplegic in a climbing accident. Since then, he’s only gotten sporadic acting gigs, all for guys in chairs, while Mark has become a star. Mark did him a solid by directing his screenplay, though they would never admit that. The film is the story of a recently disabled homeless former DJ (Thornton) who lives out of his car on Skid Row where Father Joe (Ruffalo) works to provide shelter. All of a sudden, Delicious wakes up with the power to heal, which has Father Joe lining up the poor folks of Skid Row to be made whole by D’s hand. D is too cynical to believe his gift does anyone any good. While this is happening, D also gets asked to join a band by Juliette Lewis (the best part of the movie by far). The band’s gimmick is to heal fans in concert, which D plays along with for a while, thus becoming a sell out.

The movie is like four different films in one and none of them work that well together. There’s even some courtroom drama near the end. I’m sitting there thinking the thing is a total mess, and realize Mark and Christopher are on the other side of the room gauging the audience’s reactions. That was surreal. I like Mark, but I don’t see a promising career as a director in his future. The sadder thing is, as weird as this movie was, after seeing some really bad ones afterwards, it ended up not being that bad by comparison. 4/10

We didn’t have tickets to anything for a few hours, and rather than taking our chances at another theater, we stayed at this one with the hopes of getting into a documentary called “GasLand”. The story of the environmental hazards of natural gas drilling didn’t sound very enticing at all, but we didn’t have anything better to do. The other bonus was the guy at the ticket counter let us in for free. Little did we know it would be the best film we saw by far.

I knew nothing of natural gas and assumed, based on the term “natural” that all was well and on the up and up with it. Not so. The real story plays out like “Erin Brockovich” or “A Civil Action” where the people and communities living near the drilling end up drinking contaminated water full of chemicals that decimates their health, all while large corporations like Halliburton and EnCana sit back and get filthy stinking rich. People were literally lighting the water coming out of their faucet on fire. Corporations sit back and claim innocence, refusing to do anything unless these people can prove something they did caused the problem. Of course, these people can’t. So, they live out their days heading to WalMart every week to fill up thousands of gallons of clean water so they can bathe, cook, drink, and live. Filmmaker Josh Fox has the muckraking spirit of a young Michael Moore, but without the political bent. Required viewing. 9/10

From there we had some time to kill before our next show so we got lunch at Pizza Hut. I haven’t had Pizza Hut in years and haven’t liked it for longer than that, but this was delicious. Maybe the pizza in the restaurant is better than what they deliver. Whatever it was, I loved it.

The third film of the day was called “3 Backyards” and played at Eccles, which is the main theater and seats about 1200. This was one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen. Just the kind of movie you’re afraid you’re going to see at a film festival. All overly-precious artistic indulgence, no story and no entertainment. It shows the lives of three different characters, but goes nowhere, gives no reason for anyone’s behavior, and offers no resolution. One is a guy who’s leaving for a business trip and also leaving his wife. His flight gets canceled so he wanders around town for a day, calls his wife from his own backyard to watch her body language, follows a girl he sees in a café, and ends up going home. That is it. The second story is a little girl who passes through some weird guy’s backyard on her way to school, only to see him in the shed out back whacking off to porn (although she’s probably too young to comprehend that). The third is played by Edie Falco and is a woman who gives a movie star that’s just moved into her upstate New York neighborhood a ride to the fairy. The star, played by Embeth Davidtz, is distraught over something, it never says what, and it irritates Edie, so she gets angry and distraught herself. None of these go anywhere.

In the Q&A after, the director said he wanted to make a sort of nature documentary, but with people. That’s about spot on. Also, the music was the all-time worst film score I’ve ever heard. The rest of the crowd wasn’t too enthusiastic either (although I heard the guy went on to win some kind of director’s award for it which baffles me). 1/10

We had another couple hours to kill before our next show, but none of the options were really compelling us. Farrah wanted to see something called “The Dry Land” with America Ferrera, but that didn’t appeal to me, so we settled on a documentary called “My Perestroika” about what the generation that saw the transition from USSR communism to the current regime and philosophy. The film wasn’t terrible, but it really only focuses on four different people, all of whom grew up and went to school together. Once you realize you aren’t getting anything, but what these people think, it gets pretty boring. They were all friends of the filmmaker, which shows a lack of imagination to me. She said in the Q&A afterwards that she wanted to show a side of Russia that wasn’t grey and dismal like it was depicted in most movies. I suppose she did that, but it still wasn’t very compelling. 4/10

Incidentally, while walking to this theater I passed Joel Schumacher (director of “Lost Boys”, “Batman and Robin”, “A Time To Kill”) which counts as my second star sighting, unless you count Katherine Erbe from one of the “Law and Orders” who was in “3 Backyards” and at the showing. I’ve always liked her, but she isn’t exactly a household name.

The fifth and final film of day one was another doc called “Family Affair”. This one is basically a real life “Precious”. Black family torn apart by the incest and physical abuse of the father. In this case, the dad perpetrating on his three daughters and wife and the film is made by his one son. There’s no question this is an intense topic, but I really didn’t like the way the film was constructed. It was extremely vague in its storytelling. The son/filmmaker shot his one sister in the leg when he was 10 years old, which may or may not have anything to do with the abuse. One daughter is schizophrenic and another has battled cancer, as if these are also possible results of the abuse. Of course one gets pregnant. There’s even a deathbed sort of apology by the dad, except that he doesn’t die (I assume, the movie never closes that loop).

I guess the point is that the family continues to interact (the mom left years ago and has avoided all of them ever since) in spite of the stories that swirl around the air. It plays like an episode of “Intervention”, but without the placards that come up every few minutes to give you the backstory and explain what’s really happening. The director plants a lot of potential bombs in a mine field, but then proceeds to get to them very leisurely and never completely. Plus, in the Q&A after he seemed like kind of a douche, thanking his lawyers for their help. 5/10.

The drive home was going to get us back to the house at around 12 as it was, but there was a wreck or construction or something on the interstate that left tons of us sitting completely still for a good 45 minutes. Cars turned off and everything. We ended up not getting back until around 1:15. Steve came over to stay the night because he was going to be watching the kids for part of the next day, so by the time I finished hanging out with him and got in bed it was 2:15. AND, of all days for this to happen, Georgia decided to wake up the next morning at 5:30! We put her back to bed a couple times, but it only lasted until 6:15 when we were all up for good. Knowing we’d be spending the day in dark movie theaters on less that four hours sleep was torturous.

Day 2 began with “Holy Rollers” a film written by a friend of Farrah’s and a member of the church named Antonio Macia. It’s a story that was new to me, Hasidic Jews in NYC being used as drug mules trafficking Ecstasy into the states from Europe. The movie stars Jesse Eisenberg (who I love, but am convinced can only really do one thing well, from an acting perspective) and Justin Bartha from “The Hangover”. As much as I wanted to like the movie, feeling I had a stake in it knowing the writer and everything, I didn’t love it. It’s a total by the numbers. Young Jew lives uneventful life until his friend turns him into a mule. He gets attracted to the money and lifestyle, turns his back on his family and traditions, only to get into trouble and learn what’s really important in life. We’ve seen it in a dozen “Behind The Music’s”. 4/10

From here we saw the film with the least known cast of all the dramas we saw, “Skateland”. This one is basically “Adventureland”, only the hang-out is a skating rink instead of an amusement park. I actually really enjoyed this one. It’s the typical “what am I going to do with my life after graduation” type thing that we saw in “Adventureland” and “Dazed and Confused”, but it had some fresh moments, an attractive cast (good GOD Ashley Greene is gorgeous), and some really good laughs. The end credits say the film is dedicated to John Hughes, which comes as no surprise. My only issue with these kinds of films that are popping up all the time now, is that they all feel too much like copies instead of originals. Get a soundtrack from 1983, put people in retro band t-shirts and muscle cars, and put cool old posters on their walls, and you’re set. Of course I’m all for that, but it isn’t original. Look more at a movie like “(500) Days of Summer” that takes the John Hughes vibe and makes something new out of it. Still, a copy of the best is better than an original piece of junk. 7/10

We had no more tickets for shows that day, but we weren’t ready to head back yet, so we waited in line to see another doc called “Smash His Camera”. Luckily, we got the last two seats. This was the story of Ron Gallela, who I hadn’t heard of before, but is considered the first and proudest paparazzo. I wish I loved anything as much as he loves stalking celebrities. He’s the perfect subject for a film like this because he’s all New Joisey accented and attitude. The guy’s in his 70s now, but still pounds the pavement and races through traffic to get the right shot. His photos are beautiful and have been shown in the MOMA, which brings up the argument of whether this is really art, whether what he does is decent, whether what he does is lawful, etc. It was made by a guy that won an Oscar for “When We Were Kings”, so the guy has his bona fides. It was a fluffy, sweet confection that isn’t good for you, but so very very enjoyable. 9/10

We headed home after this and were both asleep in bed by 9:45. I managed to stay awake long enough to watch the Jazz beat Sacramento, which is another bonus of trips to Utah. We needed the rest because we were back at it early on Saturday morning.

Oh, while we were walking around on Friday, we were approached by some people working for GMC who offered us Starbucks gift cards if we just sat in the car with them for a minute and listened to their spiel. I was impressed, both with the guts it takes to guerrilla market like that, and the car. Honestly, I’ll consider a GMC next time we buy a car. Isn’t it amazing how that works?

Saturday kicked off with the least indie film of the festival, “Twelve”. It was directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Chace Crawford, so you know an official release date is eminent. I have no problem with seeing mainstream movies masquerading as indies while at Sundance. In fact, it made for a nice change of pace. The movie was nothing special, very Hollywood formulaic, but that’s what you should expect from Schumacher. It’s the story of privileged kids in Manhattan that kill time doing drugs and partying. The cast is all perfect and beautiful and the story is typical. Chace and Joel did a Q&A after and it was good to hear from Joel especially. All the other filmmakers are so nervous and timid and humble during their Q&As. Joel’s a pro, he’s been in the biz for a while, so he knows to quit the pandering and be present. I liked that. 6/10

Farrah’s sister Brooke and her husband Jake came to the movie as well. We like them, so that was fun. They also stuck around and went to the next one with us, which was a documentary on Jean-Michel Basquiat called “Radiant Child”. When Farrah bought tickets a couple of weeks prior, this was the one I was most adamant about seeing. I’ve been curious about him for years and have been on a big art from that period kick for the last couple years. The movie did not disappoint. I’m not sure why I’ve never considered Basquiat’s art anything special, but the second you see it on the big screen it all makes total sense. Had I been an art dealer in the early 80s and been a room full of up and coming artists, I wouldn’t have been able to see anyone but him either.

The film was directed by Tamra Davis, who also, believe it or not, made “Billy Madison”. Davis new Jean-Michel back in the day and had filmed an interview she did with him, which ended up being one of the only interviews he ever did and it wasn’t even “official” it was just friends talking. That footage is like gold, so the movie builds off of it to tell his story. Afterwards we were debating whether it was the age-old story of power and fame corrupting someone, or whether what drove him to drugs and, ultimately, death was the fear of becoming irrelevant. I’m in the latter camp. I loved this film. I would buy it and watch it over and over just for the sensory experience of seeing his work and hearing the music and seeing the fashion of the time. 9/10

While sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start, America Ferrera walked in and began speaking with someone sitting behind us. It took me a second to recognize her because she’s tiny and very pretty and normal looking in real life. She was wearing a puffy parka, so she may have been bigger than she appeared, but I would guess not. We overheard them say that “Ugly Betty” is getting canceled. It’s too bad for her because that should have been an iconic role. She did it well, but the writers were too all over the place and ABC mis-marketed the show.

We tried, but couldn’t get into anything after this. We had tickets to the Grand Jury prize winner for documentary, but it wasn’t til 8:30. We tried getting into a documentary produced by Adrian Grenier called “Teenage Paparazzo”, but they ran out of seats about seven people ahead of us. The last person to NOT get in was one of the stars of “Twelve”, Emily Meade, so it made me feel better knowing actors and actresses don’t always get special treatment. Granted, “Twelve” was one of Emily’s only credits, but still. At one point, Adrian himself came out and handed out tickets to some of the people in line and was very gracious and nice to everyone, which was a classy move.

The last movie we saw, and the Grand Jury prize winner, was called “Restrepo”. It was made by the guy that wrote “A Perfect Storm” and it shows a troop of Iraq soldiers that have to take over a valley I’ve forgotten the name of. While not being as good as some of the other docs we saw (Farrah hated it), I liked that it was a true, unfiltered look into the life of a soldier under extreme circumstances. We’re so used to seeing movies like “Jarhead” or “Stop-Loss” that dramatize the situation, but this was the real deal. You see them cope with fear, death, boredom, combat, and everything else in between. “Restrepo” was the last name of one of the soldiers in the platoon that died in battle, so they named one of their camps after him. I’m pretty sure two things went into influencing the judges to give it the award, 1) the success of “The Hurt Locker” which has made movies and discussions on the war from an apolitical perspective ok again. And, 2) the danger involved in capturing the images, which is no small feat. Personally, I would have voted for “GasLand”. 8/10

So, that’s pretty much everything. It was an incredible time and I’d do it again in a second. Seek these films out when you can, even the bad ones. It will be interesting to see what the public opinion is. But, if any of you try to defend “3 Backyards” to me, we’re finished.

Best of 2009:The Top 10

10. Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead

I call music like this “open wound”. The heaviness and emotion are so dense and hard, yet it’s melodic and exquisitely beautiful. Imagine densely powerful alternative pop bands like The Cure or Interpol, but with Billy Bragg, or someone else with a thick Scottish brogue, as the lead singer. Two components that don’t seem like they should go together, yet they do and it makes for something new and special. Proof that something can be both dark and beautiful. Hopefully, you already knew that.

Best Track: "I Became a Prostitute"

9. Jack Penate – Everything Is New

This one is a lot of fun. First bonus, it’s only nine tracks long so it’s over before it wears out its welcome. Second bonus, each song has a heavy influence of world music as if he traveled the world and brought back these knick-knacks. Third bonus, it’s all set to some excellent beats. I’ve heard several people compare him to Lily Allen, but I don’t see that. Maybe they both write pop music with a wider world-view, but she’s totally pop. Jack appears to be an artist. Maybe if he was a hot, drugged out girl that’s always running around naked, the comparison would be more obvious.

Best Track: "Everything Is New"

8. The xx – xx

Definitely the most hyped band of the year and the latest in that ongoing assembly line of bands getting enormous in the UK and then attempting to keep the momentum going in the States. It’s a couple of young ‘uns, a boy and a girl, with only a guitar, bass, and a drum machine, but the sounds they create are intense. It sounds like the hushed, minimal guitar strums of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” with some chilled out, bubbling beats. The voices are sly and sexy, but seemingly by accident, like they’re too shy to really belt it out, yet that’s what makes it magical. So simple, but so incredible. Believe the hype!

Best Track: "Infinity"

7. The Temper Trap – Conditions

Probably the safest bet of the year. It’s the best album for the most amount of people because it has multi-quadrant appeal. In other words, they sound the most like Coldplay. I mean all of these things as complements. It’s rare that rock music is done right, AND presents something slightly on the edge. It’s comfortable in a way that the best music should be. I predict big things from them.

Best Track: "Sweet Disposition"

6. Passion Pit – Manners

Another example of the domination of excellent synth pop in 2009. Passion Pit started out as one guy who made some songs for his girlfriend and then posted them on MySpace which led to a record deal. Isn’t that basically the success story template of the new millennium? The beauty of Passion Pit is the sense of soul at the heart of the electronics. That’s difficult to pull off without working really hard at it and it appears to come naturally to them. Plus, his voice hints at some boiling chaos just beneath the surface, which is exciting and keeps you wondering if/when he’s going to blow.

Best Track: "Little Secrets"

5. One eskimO – One eskimO

I’m leery whenever I read that a band is really a single artist on a creative binge, because it’s usually some indulgent nonsense that only sounds good to him (or maybe I’m still scarred by Primitive Radio Gods). In this case, it’s some guy I’ve never heard of named Kristian Leontiou. That being said, this is some rich, full pop music that goes down really easy. It’s largely acoustic with some nice beats percolating under the surface and one of those vibrant blue-eyed soul voices.

Best Track: "Kandi"

4. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires

I lucked out on this one, as it’s technically a reissue. Originally released in 2007, these French dance club maestros showed a ton of promise with their version of what LCD Soundsystem do so well. In other words, dance music with instruments. In 2009, the single “Kiss Of Life” completely knocked me out with its martial African drums and yell along chorus. It made a splash, which lead to the album being rereleased with the song attached (it isn’t included on the original). The rest of the album is just as good.

Best Track: "Kiss Of Life"

3. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Probably the most challenging and least conventional album on the list. These guys create a beautiful racket that sounds strangely like the Beach Boys mixed with Wilco wrapped in a heavy gauze that’s been stained by the sun. When it works, as it does on about 8 of these 12 tracks, it’s intensely powerful and mightily expansive. When it doesn’t, it can make for some forgettable white noise. Luckily, the highs don’t just transcend you, they transcend what you understood music could be and sound like. It’ll stretch your mind and you’ll like it.

Best Track: "Two Weeks"

2. Glasvegas – Glasvegas

Another reissue. What often happens is come January, record companies will throw marketing dollars at the smaller artists on their roster that weren’t priorities during the high traffic shopping seasons. This is what happened to Glasvegas, so their debut also got a rerelease with a bonus track or two. They deserve the attention because it’s gorgeous. Maybe it does sound sort of trendy, the whole early U2/Interpol/Big Country thing with the ringing guitars and melodies to fight a war to. Who cares? Just add them to your list of favorite things that make your life better. That list can never be long enough.

Best Track: "Geraldine"

1. Owl City – Ocean Eyes
Most people hate this guy. Well, not most people, he did have one of the biggest hits of the year from out of nowhere. But, purists will tell you that he sounds too much like the Postal Service and, since Ben Gibbard and all he produces is sacred ground, Owl City is to be sentenced to death by firing squad. I don’t get this. The best true “pop” music is all about improving on a template. Postal Service is great, but they always left me a little cold. Owl City has much more heart and the tunes sound fuller and warmer.

This was a rough year for a lot of people, me included. We all just want to feel better. As a music lover, I can appreciate being challenged (hence Grizzly Bear), but not right now. Not during these times. I just want my outlook brightened and my heart lightened. Owl City provided that for me. I am choosing not to be negative about him. There’s enough of that filling up the rest of my day.

Best Track: "Fireflies"

The Best Albums of 2009: 20-11

20. Fanfarlo – Reservoir

A fun little band of gypsies. The songs are as strong and poppy as anything Coldplay would come up with. But these guys throw on the brass, the accordions, the violins, etc. It ends up sounding like a Russian hoe-down. After their excellent contributions to the "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack, kindred spirits DeVotchka’s profile was raised, but they should have been bigger. Hopefully, Fanfarlo, who sound very similar, can make that breakthrough.

Best Track: "The Walls Are Coming Down"

19. Kiss – Sonic Boom

Everything you want from a Kiss album. Sure, it’s absolutely riddled with clichés, but when you figure Kiss basically invented those clichés, it’s really just them doing what they do best. It’s crass and lunkheaded and misogynistic and all the rest of the stuff they’re constantly accused of. And, that’s why we love them.

Best Track: "Modern Day Delilah"

18. Pet Shop Boys – Yes

If you really think about it, it’s baffling how consistent the Boys are. They’ve been at it for 25 years and have never released a bad album. In fact, there may not even be a bad song. Now, when you follow a template as meticulously as they do, it may be hard to screw up. It’s not like they take a lot of chances. But, it is an enviable skill to be so good at something that you consistently do it well year after year.

Best Track: "All Over The World"

17. Gomez – A New Tide

As these guys have stripped a lot of the cool little tricks they lathered on top of their earlier albums, the songwriting has gotten stronger and stronger and they’ve actually become a much better band, even if they sound less unique. In the beginning, their genius blend of blues and techno was unlike anything anyone else was doing at the time. Still is. But now their sound is richer and the songs are deeper. The gimmicks are largely gone, but the maturity is, arguably, more interesting.

Best Track: "Win Park Slope"

16. Metric – Fantasies

Another example of a band that found the groove among the gimmicks. Canadian band, Metric came up during that time in the early 00’s when groups were merging indie rock with 80s style and synths. Metric were catchy, but lacked much heft. It was pretty noodly in that 80s pong kind of way. Fantasies is them honing those skills into a set of tracks that could almost be described as meat and potatoes alternative rock. Every song is good. Every song is catchy. Never do they sound simple or amateurish. Solid.

Best Track: "Help, I'm Alive"

15. Bob Mould – Life and Times

The guitar God plays it straight. A few years ago, Bob decided he was hanging up his axe for good and turning to turn-tables full time. His fans revolted in droves. Noticing that when you’re one of the world’s greatest guitarists the public would rather you not release dance music, Bob has been melding the two sounds successfully since he returned to form. Of his albums since the comeback, Life and Times rocks the most and will most likely remind you of his excellent work with his power-pop band Sugar.

Best Track: "City Lights (Days Go By)"

14. Simple Minds – Graffitti Soul

Another example of a once world-dominating band from another era that’s releasing consistently strong stuff. It pains me when I realize that one of my all-time favorite bands continues to release music every couple years (admittedly with spotty results) and that music isn’t available for purchase in the United States. Simple Minds have one of the biggest hit singles of all time (“Don’t You Forget About Me”) and was one of the most important and adventurous bands of the 80s, and yet they can’t seem to secure an American record deal. Boggles my mind. The new album is good. They deserve more.

Best Track: "Moscow Underground"

13. Raveonettes – In and Out of Control

They finally get the mixture right. After years and years of combining Buddy Holly pop simplicity with a Jesus and Mary Chain sonic backdrop, the Raveonettes have produced an album of fluid consistency. They’ve always been able to write a few excellent songs. Now, they have an excellent album. Strange how catchy songs about suicide, drugs, and rape can be. Hope they can keep it going.

Best Track: "Bang!"

12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz

It shouldn’t work. One of the most innovative sludgey-guitar-based bands of the last decade decides they want to focus on the synthesizers. In keeping with a recurring theme on this list, it made for one of their most consistent albums. Their first album with that epic hit “Maps” was a smash, so expectations were high for what they’d come back with. Doubt anyone expected this. The nutty thing is, this album’s better than the first. This is the year for techno-pop and who would have guessed that these guys would be leaders of that charge.

Best Track: "Zero"

11. Mando Diao – Get Me Fire

Mando Diao released one of the best albums of the last decade with their 2003 debut, “Bring ‘Em In” which is also one of the greatest garage rock masterpieces of all-time. Since then, they’ve spit out about an album a year and each one seems to be them taking on a more successful band’s persona whether it be Oasis or Kaiser Chiefs or Stereophonics. None of them were as good as them just being themselves. "Give Me Fire" is the first time since 2003 that they’ve sounded like they should. Hope they can keep it going.

Best Track: "Blue Lining, White Trenchcoat"

Top 10 Movies of 2009

10. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Rock and Roll dreams come through! The band of Canadian knuckleheads had the chops to make it in the 80s hair metal scene, but never managed to make it click. They sunk further and further into obscurity while they watched their fellow cohorts go multi-platinum. After 20 years of wondering what happened, and struggling to hold down regular jobs while still putting on shows that only a handful of people even attend, the spotlight is finally shown on them. The film stands as an emblem of the power of redemption and shows that sometimes karma smiles.


9. State of Play
A rare thing: excellent entertainment for adults. Hollywood continues to dumb us down by either sensory overload or trite formulaic story lines. The interesting stories usually have to be found in the indie films. Not this time. It doesn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for movies about journalism and politics. Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck are so good they may cause you to like them again. Granted, the movie indulges one twist ending too many, wish they would have stopped when they were ahead, but I’ll forgive it since the rest was so satisfying. It’s the perfect thing to watch when the kids have gone to bed and you’re dying for some grown up time.


8. I Love You, Man
The funniest movie of the year (hear that, Hangover?). Paul Rudd has ascended to that rarefied air where you’ll line up for just about anything he’s in. And Jason Segal is proving himself to have a similar cache. Today’s man is sensitive. He’s in touch with his feelings and his needs. This evolution calls for a bro-mantic comedy and I Love You, Man fits the bill perfectly. Easily the best odd couple since Oscar and Felix.



7. Funny People
This one took me by surprise. Judd Apatow was beginning to reach that perch in his career where you’d prefer to see him fail rather than continue to succeed (Coldplay is another good example). Just when you’re ready to write him off and think it’s safe to condemn his new “dramedy” (speaking of men “evolving”) before even seeing it, something unexpected happens. He throws something at you that’s half Apatow, half Ingmar Bergman. Funny People feels more like a foreign film for the leisurely pace and high dramatic content, and, yet, it’s OK. In fact, it’s better than OK. I’m sure it was exactly this mix that doomed it at the box office, which is a shame. Just hook up to it and let it take you on a journey. It’s a surprisingly good one.


6. Sugar
Speaking of being surprised, wait til you see Sugar. It’s the story of a minor league baseball player from the Dominican Republic and the culture clashes he’s forced to acclimate to while playing ball in small-town America. A sports movie, but not really, it’s one of the rare films that tells a story you didn’t know, but assumed you did, and then learn you had no idea about. The hidden gem of the year.




5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson’s films had begun to rub the wrong way. They were like one big pregnant pause without a payoff. Who would have thought that his best film by a mile would be an animated one. But, it actually makes sense. Go back and watch his other films and they’re practically animated as they are. It was a stroke of genius to go old school with Rankin-Bass looking puppets. Never having read Roald Dahl’s original book, I have no idea how close it is to the original story, but I wouldn’t call this a “kid’s movie” by any stretch. They’ll probably think it looks really cool, but not understand the subtext of the little guy fighting off the boss man. I can’t wait to show it to my kids when they’re old enough to sit through an entire movie.


4. Up In The Air
Michael Jordan was born to play basketball. Michael Jackson was born to entertain. And George Clooney was born to be a movie star. These people couldn’t possibly be anything but exactly what they are and we’re lucky to have them enrich our lives (even if we are blind with jealousy). No movie has captured George at the top of his natural powers until this one. It’s the Network or Wall Street or All The President’s Men of its time. In 50 years people will want to know what life was like at the turn of the millennium and that curiosity should lead them right here.


3. Food Inc.
The documentary of the year and, hopefully, the film that changes the way you live and think about life. Not only is it dispiriting to learn about the ugly politics behind the food and goods we buy from our local grocery story, it’s a sobering reminder of how difficult it always seems to be to do the right thing in this country. The system’s corrupt, from how the food we eat is made, to who gets to provide it and who doesn’t (tip: the money makes the rules). Food is a hot topic now in this country and deservedly so. Inform yourself and start here. It’s essential.


2. The Informant!
I’ve heard a lot of gripes about this film because it doesn’t stack up to the book. Well, I never read the book so I have no problem saying it’s one of the best movies of the year. Matt Damon is hilarious (who knew?) as an unstable corporate whistleblower who’s really in it for himself. Another excellent film for adults with brains. Both horrifying and hilarious, the tone keeps you slightly off guard, never really knowing exactly whose side to take or how you should feel. After an hour or so of laughing with tears in your eyes, you’ll know where it’s all going.

1. (500) Days of Summer
Simply, the best time I had at the movies last year. If you’re in the right demographic, this is probably the story to a half-dozen of your own love stories. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s insightful, and it’s a different spin on the traditional rom-com. By the end you realize it isn’t so much a love story, as the story of the person you fall in love with just before the person you end up with.

Live in Concert: Green Day 8/15/09

It's rare I see a big name band at the top of their powers. I tend to gravitate to the nostalgia circuit in an effort to either catch one last glimpse of a former favorite (John Mellencamp, Steely Dan), or play catch up on someone I ignored back in the day, only to finally come around to their brilliance later (Def Leppard, Camper Van Beethoven). So, I was on the fence whether to bother with Green Day since, I'm sure, they'll be around long enough to see them in some package deal with the Offspring, Sugar Ray and Live in about 10 years (that's usually how it works).

But, I went against tradition and decided to see the real deal in all it's present glory. I'm glad I did. It was an especially welcome example of fan payback compared to the distant stiffarm from Trashcan Sinatras a couple nights earlier. If you want to see it done right, see Green Day. Surprisingly, I'm not even the world's biggest GD fan. I self-identify as a product of the 80s, while GD are totally and completely aligned with the 90s (no matter how crucial their more recent work is), so they never belonged to me. There isn't a moment in my life that's capped by a GD song (they were completely ubiquitous during my first days and months and year after my mission, but by then my innocence had been lost and songs didn't carry the weight they did during adolescence).

However, it occurred to my while watching the show that no band in the last 15 years have more effectively and exactly held a mirror to their generation than Green Day have. Let's explore the parallels.

First, they were birthed out of the early 90s grunge scene. While not being grunge themselves (I heard a lot of Social Distortion at first, which no one ever mentions), they were harder edged rock and that was in style (finally). Also, their attitude was that of a slacker who sat around their parent's house aimlessly daydreaming about what to do next, both in the macro sense (for a job) and the micro (what's on TV). Songs like "Longview" (a song about masturbating while stoned) and "Basket Case" (name says it all) perfectly summarized in clear and direct words how the youth of America were feeling at that time. The message was powerful, millions listened and followed. They had yet to lose their innocence.

As the indulgent 90s wore on, messages like that became less and less immediate (even the Clinton administration became mired in sex scandals, probably out of a lack of anything better to do). After a couple years of living the slacker dream, it was time to grow up and growing up can be hard, especially if you are ill-equipped. Green Day's next few albums, while trying to expand on the snotty punk that had painted them into a corner, made less impact and the band found themselves as irrelevant as a guy in his late 20s still getting high in the basement.

Then, suddenly in September of 2001, the country woke up. Woke WAY up. Shaken from their juvenile stupor, Green Day got wise. Feelings began to boil inside, like anger and skepticism and frustration, that weren't there before not pointed in this direction anyway. Matters became more important. But, this is the generation that gets their facts from the Daily Show. They aren't reading the New York Times, rather they're obeying their media heroes. Information funneled this way may not be complete, but it's potent and it sparked one of the most miraculous turnarounds rock has ever seen. And, once again Green Day were talking in a language their generation, as well as just about everyone else, could understand when they released American Idiot, the album that changed everything.

American Idiot managed to take the bits of facts and soundbites of the media and regurgitate them in a way that incited action. It gave words to the feelings of the less informed that the New York Times couldn't touch. It didn't have to. All this generation needed to hear was our President called an Idiot. That alone made us feel better and, God knows, no one else was doing it. It managed to direct that anger at the singular person who embodied the trainwreck our country was racing headlong into. Who is this idiot and why are we listening to him and what can we do about it? It was also a huge smash.

Fast forward five years and Bush is no longer in office and Obama has assuaged some of that anger, but now what are we left with? Christian fundamentalism. A new great depression. A whole ton of residual frustration. If American Idiot said "I'm pissed!", 21st Century Breakdown says "I'm still pissed because I still don't see any reason not to be!" If Green Day's career isn't the trajectory of, what Pepsi called Generation Y, I don't know what is. They go from uninformed slacker, to Daily Show educated, to media ingestion 24/7, just like everyone else.

The best part about the show was how they got the crowd involved, inviting people up to the stage to sing backup, play guitar, stage dive, you name it. The highlight was when a 12 year old boy came up to play "Jesus of Suburbia" with the band. Green Day made these people's lives better. That 12 year old gets to go to school and tell his friends (not to mention the bullies who may beat him up) that he got to jam with Green Day in front of a few thousand people. That is what being a true rock band is all about, knowing enough to give back to the people who got you there. Green Day know this. They live by it. And it helps to ease the anger.

Live in Concert: Trashcan Sinatras 8/06/09

This feels like blasphemy. One of my favorite bands and I'm speaking ill of them. I was even lucky enough to meet them once and they couldn't be nicer. It doesn't feel right, but neither did their show. In fact, neither does the trip they're on these days. I'm disappointed.

Here's some backstory. TCS burst on the scene in 1990 with their debut album, Cake (my 2nd all-time favorite album). Their popcraft was immediate and beautiful, their wordplay clever. It was the perfect sound for the time and completely in line with contemporaries like the Ocean Blue, the Smiths, and Aztec Camera. Cake was not the smash in America that it should have been (though popular on alternative radio thanks to the obvious perfection of singles "Obscurity Knocks" and "Only Tongue Can Tell" which if you don't like them, you don't know what joy feels like) and they followed it up with the comparatively darker I've Seen Everything, which also underperformed in spite of another infectious single, "Hayfever". Here's where things get dicey.

This was followed by A Happy Pocket, an almost glacially paced album of heavily hushed tunes that their record company refused to release stateside and remains out of print and hard to find to this day. Not that it's a total lost, despite a few pretty tracks (including their somber take on "To Sir, With Love") it is quite a bear to get through. Then, they disappeared without nary a peep for eight years before coming back in a major way with 2004's Weightlifting. Their fans rejoiced! The songcraft hadn't lost a step in the years off, but, if I'm honest, the songs got very delicate and soft. Still beautiful, in fact there may have been TOO high a premium on beauty, (as evidenced by "Weightlifting" and the gorgeous "Got Carried Away"). No one minded too much because we were so glad to have them back. I love that album, but that joy has been replaced with some sorrow and sympathy.

Ok, here's the point: the concert was almost completely dominated by new material. They just produced a new album called In The Music that has, so far, only been available online. If Weightlifting was soft, then In The Music is practically weightless. The show consisted of ZERO songs off Cake (I was so pissed), three from Everything, ZERO from Pocket (just as well), three from Weight and the rest new.

So, do the math with me on this. A beloved band returns from hibernation choosing (that's the key word here, bands don't forget to play those songs, it's a choice) to ignore the past and focus on the now. That works if you're a band like U2 or the Cure who have an extensive catalog of hits and crowd faves that people will forgive you for skipping some obscure early faves. But, TCS only have five albums and it was the early stuff that hooked us! You can't throw us a bone and just sprinkle a couple of them here and there? There was a section in the show of about seven sleepy new songs in a row (remember, the album has not even been officially released). You expect people to stay awake for that? Here's another sort of nervey thing, they kicked the show off with a new song (of course) and then played two crowd faves ("Hayfever" and "Easy Read") back to back and then didn't return to the classics until the end of the show. That's such cruel foreplay! It's like they wanted to get that stuff over with as soon as possible, yet satiate the crowd who don't know that's the last bite they'll get for a long time.

Bands will often try to distance themselves from their past because they get tired of playing the hits, or they were only that way in the first place because of label pressure (notice the descent of the Police, especially Sting, who went from angry, artful punks, to guys who write music for soccer moms). But when your career and output are as scattered as TCS's, ignoring a chapter of your history is ignoring half the story! Plus, it's the good part!

I'm afraid my TCS worship has fallen off the rails. I'll continue to get their music (the new album, which I bought at the show, is underwhelming so far), but I doubt I'll pay to see them live again. It's a shame, I was rooting for them. The world is a better place with them in it, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. The weird thing is, I'm a "friend" of theirs on facebook and they post setlists and such every couple days. Well, I took it as an opportunity to tell them I was annoyed about the show. They didn't respond, but the other fans sure did. Some of them were on my side and felt similarly, others were calling for my head. My feeling is, if you're going to purposely alienate your fans like that, you deserve to get kicked in the nuts a little. I just hope they don't get their feelings hurt and disappear for another eight years.

The opener, however, was a band I had never heard of but now love called Brookville. No one knew them, they asked the crowd a couple times to no response at all, but people were impressed. Turns out, Brookville is basically Andy Chase's band and Andy is a member of Ivy, an excellent band that I like a lot, as well as the producer of some of the TCS's stuff. So, the night wasn't a complete waste. It's like I went on a double date and ended up with a crush on my date's friend. It ain't cool, but love is love and so is good music.

Live in Concert: Jonathan Richman 7/01/09

Here's exactly how this typically goes down. I've seen him three times now and every time it's the same.

Me: "I'm seeing Jonathan Richman tonight"

Someone: (very confused look on their face) "Who?"

Me: "He's the singer that pops up throughout 'Something About Mary'"

Someone: (the light just went on) "Ooohh!"

That's how JR is most widely known. He is best known, however, as the leader of the Modern Lovers, one of the seminal underground punk bands in music history. The Modern Lovers, who only really released one proper album under the original line-up, were important for a few reasons. 1) They were from Boston which set them apart from the hub of the scene in New York. 2) The band featured Jerry Harrison, who went on to the Talking Heads, and Dave Robinson, who went on to join the Cars. And 3) JR's heartfelt, almost childlike lyrics. Where most punk bands yelled about drugs and mayhem and desperation, JR was the nerdy punk who wore his heart on his sleeve. It set him apart from the rest of the pack. They didn't really have any hits, but they had some classics ("Roadrunner", "Pablo Picasso" and "I'm Straight")

Now, JR's solo stuff over the last 25-30 years bears almost no resemblance to punk. It's become almost performance art, a sort of comic/musical mix that sounds somewhat like the Violent Femmes and Flight of the Conchords. Sparse, emotive, lovelorn, and deeply serious about how unserious it is. He's been doing this thing for many many years (the guy's almost 60) and has it down. In fact, everything you could say about him live can be explained in this clip of him on Conan (a big fan) in 1992 performing one of his staples "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar". This is exactly what you get. It's like watching a child perform their first dance recital looking intently at their parents in the front row for encouragement. That child like innocence in his eyes is mesmerizing. He also makes up songs on the spot or adds new lyrics to existing ones or sings them in a different language. He doesn't have any hits he has to trot out, so it can all be as off the cuff as he wants. In fact, this time he made up a song about how he makes up new lyrics. He compared it to fresh baked bread. It's great for the first couple hours, but after 8-10 hours it's sold as day old bread. That's his philosophy. If he doesn't feel it, he doesn't perform it (his words exactly).

So, either he is a consummate performer with his schtick nailed down tight, or he's a total kook. This interview from 1978, where he actually gets emotional when the host mentions William Blake, implies he may have a screw loose. However, I saw him in the bar before the show talking to a friend and he seemed as normal and unassuming as anyone else. It's quite a trick he pulls off, but it's a good one.

I wanted to post the song and performance that turned me onto him in the first place. Like I mentioned, Conan's a fan (as are the Farrelly Brothers, hence the "Mary" and "Kingpin" cameos) and has had him on the show a few times. This performance of "Let Her Go Into The Darkness" was released on a cd of performances from the show that I purchased from BMG or Columbia House back in the day. I thought it was haunting and, not being able to see him perform it, took it to be deadly serious. Only now do I realize everything he does is with a wink.