Do not see The Happening.
It's awful. Like, really awful. Like, "Is this actually happening?" (no pun intended) awful.
To accompany - or rather emphasize - my review yesterday, I found this list of 18 Reasons Why The Happening is the Worst Movie of the Year. [Link contains many, many spoilers, obviously.]
On a good note, Tilly and the Wall's new album is BOMB. Loving it.
The video for the single "Beat Control," which isn't actually on the album (it was released just as a single earlier this year), but showcases the band's new, experimental, electro sound.
Peace out.
-Jake.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
alex suarez can grill me a sandwich ANY time
Yo, folks, Anna here. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Alex Suarez, the bassist/hotass (hey, I like a dude who can multi-task) for the dance-rock band Cobra Starship, who plays The Picador tomorrow night. (Hopefully. Damn you, flood!)
Despite my fear that I would get cut off prematurely by the really!cheery! PR rep who had given me a 10-15 minutes time limit—10 to 15 minutes, seriously? I can't ask my friends enough questions to figure out anything in that time, what the hell—she must have forgotten or whatever, and I actually got to chat with Mr. Suarez about non-Starship related things. Namely:
This. The dude, before picking up a bass for his actual job, went to cooking school! How sick is that?! So, we talked about how someone who subsists on a little more than Pokey Stix survives on a bus where the chef's area has the suffix "-ette" tacked onto the end.
"Alex, I've also read that you are a trained chef—correct?"
"Yes, I am—certified."
"Certifed, huh?"
"Certified by the, oh, what's it called? I forgot—I'm already out of the loop. National Culinary Federation? I believe it is? American Culinary Federation. I'm a certified culinarian."
"So, how have you been surviving on a bus with only a little kitchenette?"
"No, it's really hard to cook. We have a George Foreman Grill on the bus that we use to press sandwiches and make grilled cheeses, but. I get really creative on the bus, like, I make pasta dishes, stuff like that. Touring has actually changed my diet quite a bit. I stopped eating meat because I kept getting sick from like, deli meat that we kept getting on the last tour for like sandwiches and stuff, and I was just kind of repulsed by the whole thing so I just quit eating meat a few months ago."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's been a lot more interesting, actually. I don't do anything with chicken— I was never really a steak kind of guy, and I think chicken is kind of nasty as it is, so. I'll still cook meat, I'll still eat it...I'm not like a crazy vegetarian who like, if there's a pasta dish with chicken in it I'm like, 'Oh, I can't taste that, there's chicken in it.' As long as I don't get any chicken, I don't really care. But yeah, I don't really have a problem with eating meat, I think there are healthier alternatives and stuff, it's made me a little more creative when it comes to cooking. I've had to cook with a lot of things I don't normally cook with, like vegetarian substitutes tempe and tofu"
"I actually just recently lost the use of my car, so..."
"Bummer!"
"I know! I miss driving, really, a lot. But the point is I haven't gotten to go the grocery store in a long time, so my own cooking has been uber-restricted as well."
"Yeah, one thing I do miss a lot is fish. I miss fish like crazy. That's one of my favorite things to eat and cook. Actually, grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I love that. It's so fun to me—I don't know why. Whenever we have a day off on tour, we go to Trader Joe's and just stock up on stuff."
"Yeah? What's your favorite bus recipe?"
"Let me see...I don't get too intense with cooking. I tend to get pasta like orzo, because it cooks the fastest, or like, angel hair, and boil it in the microwave. I'll make some cous-cous on the bus. I think what I really get into on the bus, is I'll make really fancy cheese sandwiches on the Foreman grill with tomatoes, and like, all different kinds of cheese, and really good mustard and all sorts of things like that. It sounds pretty boring, but when you bite into it, you just like 'Oh, Mylanta, this is amazing!' and it's over."
"Well, hey, as someone whose roommate just moved out and took the George Foreman Grill with her, that sounds pretty good to me!"
"Oh, yeah!"
And, just for good measure:
Shut your mouth and get down on the floor,
Anna
Despite my fear that I would get cut off prematurely by the really!cheery! PR rep who had given me a 10-15 minutes time limit—10 to 15 minutes, seriously? I can't ask my friends enough questions to figure out anything in that time, what the hell—she must have forgotten or whatever, and I actually got to chat with Mr. Suarez about non-Starship related things. Namely:
This. The dude, before picking up a bass for his actual job, went to cooking school! How sick is that?! So, we talked about how someone who subsists on a little more than Pokey Stix survives on a bus where the chef's area has the suffix "-ette" tacked onto the end.
"Alex, I've also read that you are a trained chef—correct?"
"Yes, I am—certified."
"Certifed, huh?"
"Certified by the, oh, what's it called? I forgot—I'm already out of the loop. National Culinary Federation? I believe it is? American Culinary Federation. I'm a certified culinarian."
"So, how have you been surviving on a bus with only a little kitchenette?"
"No, it's really hard to cook. We have a George Foreman Grill on the bus that we use to press sandwiches and make grilled cheeses, but. I get really creative on the bus, like, I make pasta dishes, stuff like that. Touring has actually changed my diet quite a bit. I stopped eating meat because I kept getting sick from like, deli meat that we kept getting on the last tour for like sandwiches and stuff, and I was just kind of repulsed by the whole thing so I just quit eating meat a few months ago."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's been a lot more interesting, actually. I don't do anything with chicken— I was never really a steak kind of guy, and I think chicken is kind of nasty as it is, so. I'll still cook meat, I'll still eat it...I'm not like a crazy vegetarian who like, if there's a pasta dish with chicken in it I'm like, 'Oh, I can't taste that, there's chicken in it.' As long as I don't get any chicken, I don't really care. But yeah, I don't really have a problem with eating meat, I think there are healthier alternatives and stuff, it's made me a little more creative when it comes to cooking. I've had to cook with a lot of things I don't normally cook with, like vegetarian substitutes tempe and tofu"
"I actually just recently lost the use of my car, so..."
"Bummer!"
"I know! I miss driving, really, a lot. But the point is I haven't gotten to go the grocery store in a long time, so my own cooking has been uber-restricted as well."
"Yeah, one thing I do miss a lot is fish. I miss fish like crazy. That's one of my favorite things to eat and cook. Actually, grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I love that. It's so fun to me—I don't know why. Whenever we have a day off on tour, we go to Trader Joe's and just stock up on stuff."
"Yeah? What's your favorite bus recipe?"
"Let me see...I don't get too intense with cooking. I tend to get pasta like orzo, because it cooks the fastest, or like, angel hair, and boil it in the microwave. I'll make some cous-cous on the bus. I think what I really get into on the bus, is I'll make really fancy cheese sandwiches on the Foreman grill with tomatoes, and like, all different kinds of cheese, and really good mustard and all sorts of things like that. It sounds pretty boring, but when you bite into it, you just like 'Oh, Mylanta, this is amazing!' and it's over."
"Well, hey, as someone whose roommate just moved out and took the George Foreman Grill with her, that sounds pretty good to me!"
"Oh, yeah!"
And, just for good measure:
Shut your mouth and get down on the floor,
Anna
Dancing in the Rain
Hey there, devoted readers. Hope you're staying dry in all this chaos.
Speaking of K-Os (see what I did there?), here's a great song and an equally tasty video by the man 9 out of 10 dentists agree is the leading candidate to usurp Michael Jackson's throne as the "King of Pop." Incidentally, that's a completely fabricated statistic.
The dancing in this video was choreographed by Victor Quijada, by the way, who is bringing his Rubberbandance Group to Carver-Hawkeye Arena this Saturday at 2 p.m. If you like breakdancing (and who doesn't, really) check them out this weekend. It beats wading around waist-deep in Iowa River water.
-Brian
Speaking of K-Os (see what I did there?), here's a great song and an equally tasty video by the man 9 out of 10 dentists agree is the leading candidate to usurp Michael Jackson's throne as the "King of Pop." Incidentally, that's a completely fabricated statistic.
The dancing in this video was choreographed by Victor Quijada, by the way, who is bringing his Rubberbandance Group to Carver-Hawkeye Arena this Saturday at 2 p.m. If you like breakdancing (and who doesn't, really) check them out this weekend. It beats wading around waist-deep in Iowa River water.
-Brian
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Spectacular View
Boo. Floods suck. A lot.
Since it's a rainy day, what could be better than sitting on my bed in my PJs, eating some fresh-out-of-the-oven tater tots, writing a fabulous DI blog, and preparing for a Lost Season Three marathon? Nothing I tell you. Honest to blog. Lulz.
I've been on this crazy Rilo Kiley kick lately. No reason really, their latest album has been out for many months. But the other day our current houseguest overheard me playing the song "Silver Lining" and said she really liked it. Later, my roommate played some more for her and she is now a full-fledged, Omaha-lovin' fan. So since then, I've been on a strictly Jenny Lewis diet.
I've been going back and listening to their older stuff, stuff that I don't really pay too much attention to as of late, and it's wonderful. So in that spirit, I decided to blog about my 10 favorite Rilo Kiley songs ever!!!!! Haters can step so far to the left that my peripheral vision will fail to distinguish you from the clothes hanging in my closet. (Note: They're not really in order. The top one is my fav, though).
10. The Good That Won't Come Out
God, do I love the guitar in this song. The hi-hat, bass combo is fab, and Jenny's (Ms. Lewis if you're nast-ay) voice intro is deliciously eerie.
9. Love and War (11/11/46)
Rilo rocks out!! I bought this album when I was, like, 16 and thought I was way bomb when I cranked this song up in my car and totes rocked out erryday.
8. I Never
If you can resist Ms. Lewis's gorgeous opening line "Iiiiiiiiii'm only a wommmaaaaan..." and/or her Whitney Houston moment in the song's bridge, you have NO heart.
7. Glendora
OMG I'm so cool, referencing a song from their original EP. Really, though, I just like it.
6. Paint's Peeling
For some reason this song reminds me of the movie Carrie. No idea why. "It's a hard day for breathing...again..." Loves it.
5. Go Ahead
Awww, Jenny Lewis just sounds so adorable here. I love how it's so great, with just her and a guitar most of the time. To quote Jessica Alba in Honey, "I like you, ya flava's hot."
4. Pictures of Success
The band gets poignant. And I get touched every time.
3. Close Call
Ok, so Under the Blacklight wasn't their best album. I know. But it was darn catchy. And this song shows that Rilo's sound has matured (instrumentally and vocally), but they still have the ability to create ridiculously infections guitar hooks and melodies. Jenny Lewis's voice sounds the best it ever has on this record. Before I figured out that the KRUI DJ playlist editor records how many times you play songs, I used to play this song, like, every week.
2. Science vs. Romance
Retro and modern sounding all at once. Simply put, brilliant.
1. A Better Son/Daughter
Can you say ANTHEM?! The song goes from 0 to 60 in an instant (fans, you know EXACTLY the moment I'm talking about), requiring the classic fist-in-the-air hand action as you realize that "You'll fake it if you have to/And you'll show up to work with a smile." Without sounding too yuppie, the lyrics are so definitive and relatable you'll swear you wrote them yourself. The song is gorgeously climactic, you'll want to go outside, walk into work/school/whatever, and show everyone that you are the best at whatever you do.
There you have it. My indie cred has either significantly increased or decreased with this blog entry. I don't even know/care. So go make a playlist with these tunes and forget about all your problems. Just be sure to turn the volume low enough to hear the approaching tide.
He gone!
-Jake.
p.s. Tyra is so boggled by the choices of great songs, she doesn't even know which to listen to first!
Since it's a rainy day, what could be better than sitting on my bed in my PJs, eating some fresh-out-of-the-oven tater tots, writing a fabulous DI blog, and preparing for a Lost Season Three marathon? Nothing I tell you. Honest to blog. Lulz.
I've been on this crazy Rilo Kiley kick lately. No reason really, their latest album has been out for many months. But the other day our current houseguest overheard me playing the song "Silver Lining" and said she really liked it. Later, my roommate played some more for her and she is now a full-fledged, Omaha-lovin' fan. So since then, I've been on a strictly Jenny Lewis diet.
I've been going back and listening to their older stuff, stuff that I don't really pay too much attention to as of late, and it's wonderful. So in that spirit, I decided to blog about my 10 favorite Rilo Kiley songs ever!!!!! Haters can step so far to the left that my peripheral vision will fail to distinguish you from the clothes hanging in my closet. (Note: They're not really in order. The top one is my fav, though).
10. The Good That Won't Come Out
God, do I love the guitar in this song. The hi-hat, bass combo is fab, and Jenny's (Ms. Lewis if you're nast-ay) voice intro is deliciously eerie.
9. Love and War (11/11/46)
Rilo rocks out!! I bought this album when I was, like, 16 and thought I was way bomb when I cranked this song up in my car and totes rocked out erryday.
8. I Never
If you can resist Ms. Lewis's gorgeous opening line "Iiiiiiiiii'm only a wommmaaaaan..." and/or her Whitney Houston moment in the song's bridge, you have NO heart.
7. Glendora
OMG I'm so cool, referencing a song from their original EP. Really, though, I just like it.
6. Paint's Peeling
For some reason this song reminds me of the movie Carrie. No idea why. "It's a hard day for breathing...again..." Loves it.
5. Go Ahead
Awww, Jenny Lewis just sounds so adorable here. I love how it's so great, with just her and a guitar most of the time. To quote Jessica Alba in Honey, "I like you, ya flava's hot."
4. Pictures of Success
The band gets poignant. And I get touched every time.
3. Close Call
Ok, so Under the Blacklight wasn't their best album. I know. But it was darn catchy. And this song shows that Rilo's sound has matured (instrumentally and vocally), but they still have the ability to create ridiculously infections guitar hooks and melodies. Jenny Lewis's voice sounds the best it ever has on this record. Before I figured out that the KRUI DJ playlist editor records how many times you play songs, I used to play this song, like, every week.
2. Science vs. Romance
Retro and modern sounding all at once. Simply put, brilliant.
1. A Better Son/Daughter
Can you say ANTHEM?! The song goes from 0 to 60 in an instant (fans, you know EXACTLY the moment I'm talking about), requiring the classic fist-in-the-air hand action as you realize that "You'll fake it if you have to/And you'll show up to work with a smile." Without sounding too yuppie, the lyrics are so definitive and relatable you'll swear you wrote them yourself. The song is gorgeously climactic, you'll want to go outside, walk into work/school/whatever, and show everyone that you are the best at whatever you do.
There you have it. My indie cred has either significantly increased or decreased with this blog entry. I don't even know/care. So go make a playlist with these tunes and forget about all your problems. Just be sure to turn the volume low enough to hear the approaching tide.
He gone!
-Jake.
p.s. Tyra is so boggled by the choices of great songs, she doesn't even know which to listen to first!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Does the Internet Byte?
2008. It has officially been half of a century since the Advanced Research Projects Agency devised a simple and complex and fascinating and dangerous and accessible and virtual sort of technology: The World Wide Waste of Time. Er, I mean.. the Internet!
Let me be succinct, it's actually been 50 spankings since the US government initiated the research of newer technologies. I doubt that in 1958 the ARPA's malnourished MIT super-grad whipped together a baby version of Firefox, wrapped it swaddling clothes and gifted it to the military in exchange for his freedom...
I mean, should we sing it a happy birthday or something? It's older than me but I suppose that doesn't mean its none the wiser... To me, the Web is sort of nightmare-ish. Here's why:
-Anyone can find anyone on the Internet.
-People (meaning businesses, agencies, IRS, CIA, FBI, etc, etc...) can monitor what you do on the Internet.
-There's no legitimate excuse anymore for disappearing for a few desperately needed personal days, avoiding your acquaintances, employers, or that character you gave your name/number to last night who won't leave you alone today and who bears a striking resemblance to this. I say with confidence that most Americans have access to a computer with browsing capability or own a cell phone with Internet access. (Yes, I've seen homeless people with cell phones, I've seen tweenagers with Blackberries!)
It's ridiculous! There's just no privacy anymore. The government created it, techies perfected it, and now I think we have a festering monster on our hands. Everyone everywhere can do anything online: from paying your Gap credit card bill to X-core biatching your sister's ex out via Facebook wall post. Ouch!
I think I have a rather ambivalent relationship with the online realm:
I LOVE IT
I use Google multiple times per day, I do most of my networking online, I can watch all the vids and listen to all of the music I want--Coldplay's Viva La Vida is streaming here, by the by.
I HATE IT
I'm online WAY too much. I'm hopelessly addicted to social networking and I begin to chew on my nails if I don't check my email tri-daily.
What is wrong with me?! Am I the only one feeling this way? I want my mantra to be "less is more," but how can I even think to utter those words if I spend half of my time online?
Speaking of the Web (as if I was talking about anything different in this monster blog), pretty soon, Google won't just be Google. I remember watching a movie in my freshman journalism class about big dot coms joining forces with other companies (i.e. Google merging with Amazon) to create a behemoth of an enterprise: GOOGLEZON.
GOOGLEZON (I have to capitalize every letter in order for you to begin to wrap your mind around its vastness), I believe, can be Wiki'd (thank you, Web). Alas, I found it! Not like it was hard to find online or anything... According to Wikipedia,
But I digress. Let's trot back to the the Web's big birthday dealio. I cannot lie, it's incredible what the right (and wrong) people can do with technology after five decades of advancement. After all, the Internet gave way to many talented people (paging, Diablo Cody). A few duds managed to find their way out of the Internet, too but I'm not even going to dignify their names in text. And true, I wouldn't be sitting here bloggin' away right now, either. The Internet has done some good for us, but who knows what the future will hold...
So I got to thinking about perils of i-research, e-communication and the like last night when I paid a little visit to a pro-liberty website. It was an exposé site of sorts--the kind of site that le gov doesn't want you know about. As I was clicking from link to link, Brian, my boyfriend, told me I'd better watch out.
"You're on a list now," he said. And he's probably right. Like I said before, the government birthed this bad boy; they've likely got their hands on every binary digit floating around out there!! I wonder if some secret government website monitoring agency has read this already. Patriot Act, anyone?
Monkeys! I feel like I have to monitor my every move now. (Note to self: donate 1/3 of time and money to the United States Government to save face.)
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, sad birthday, Internet, you scare the bejesus out of me.
--Adios babies, Kathleen.
P.S. If you want to read more on the 50th Anniversary of the Internet, you can read the Vanity Fair article, which I found here. It's nine pages. Enjoy! Also, I would like to know what YOU think. So, what do you think? Let me know below.
Let me be succinct, it's actually been 50 spankings since the US government initiated the research of newer technologies. I doubt that in 1958 the ARPA's malnourished MIT super-grad whipped together a baby version of Firefox, wrapped it swaddling clothes and gifted it to the military in exchange for his freedom...
I mean, should we sing it a happy birthday or something? It's older than me but I suppose that doesn't mean its none the wiser... To me, the Web is sort of nightmare-ish. Here's why:
-Anyone can find anyone on the Internet.
-People (meaning businesses, agencies, IRS, CIA, FBI, etc, etc...) can monitor what you do on the Internet.
-There's no legitimate excuse anymore for disappearing for a few desperately needed personal days, avoiding your acquaintances, employers, or that character you gave your name/number to last night who won't leave you alone today and who bears a striking resemblance to this. I say with confidence that most Americans have access to a computer with browsing capability or own a cell phone with Internet access. (Yes, I've seen homeless people with cell phones, I've seen tweenagers with Blackberries!)
It's ridiculous! There's just no privacy anymore. The government created it, techies perfected it, and now I think we have a festering monster on our hands. Everyone everywhere can do anything online: from paying your Gap credit card bill to X-core biatching your sister's ex out via Facebook wall post. Ouch!
I think I have a rather ambivalent relationship with the online realm:
I LOVE IT
I use Google multiple times per day, I do most of my networking online, I can watch all the vids and listen to all of the music I want--Coldplay's Viva La Vida is streaming here, by the by.
I HATE IT
I'm online WAY too much. I'm hopelessly addicted to social networking and I begin to chew on my nails if I don't check my email tri-daily.
What is wrong with me?! Am I the only one feeling this way? I want my mantra to be "less is more," but how can I even think to utter those words if I spend half of my time online?
Speaking of the Web (as if I was talking about anything different in this monster blog), pretty soon, Google won't just be Google. I remember watching a movie in my freshman journalism class about big dot coms joining forces with other companies (i.e. Google merging with Amazon) to create a behemoth of an enterprise: GOOGLEZON.
GOOGLEZON (I have to capitalize every letter in order for you to begin to wrap your mind around its vastness), I believe, can be Wiki'd (thank you, Web). Alas, I found it! Not like it was hard to find online or anything... According to Wikipedia,
I'm sure many of you know more about the ever present GOOGLEZON than I do. I'm often left in the dark with the latest high-tech discoveries, even if they are big jokes. (I still think that Snake game on the old skool Nokia phones is genius. Pathetic, I know.)GOOGLEZON is a fictional company created when Google merged with Amazon.com in the popular flash movie EPIC 2014, released in November 2004. As the story goes, Google, having consolidated all of its services into the Google Grid – a, 'universal platform that provides a functionally limitless amount of storage space and bandwidth to store and share media of all kinds' – and Amazon.com, with its, "social recommendation engine" and, 'huge commercial infrastructure' combine forces to battle with Microsoft and its fictional Newsbotster. This leads to the 'News Wars of 2010', which are, 'notable for the fact that no actual news organizations take part'. GOOGLEZON triumphs and unleashes EPIC (Evolving Personalized Information Construct), a universal, personalized news submission and distribution system that is so popular it effectively puts the fourth estate out of business.
But I digress. Let's trot back to the the Web's big birthday dealio. I cannot lie, it's incredible what the right (and wrong) people can do with technology after five decades of advancement. After all, the Internet gave way to many talented people (paging, Diablo Cody). A few duds managed to find their way out of the Internet, too but I'm not even going to dignify their names in text. And true, I wouldn't be sitting here bloggin' away right now, either. The Internet has done some good for us, but who knows what the future will hold...
So I got to thinking about perils of i-research, e-communication and the like last night when I paid a little visit to a pro-liberty website. It was an exposé site of sorts--the kind of site that le gov doesn't want you know about. As I was clicking from link to link, Brian, my boyfriend, told me I'd better watch out.
"You're on a list now," he said. And he's probably right. Like I said before, the government birthed this bad boy; they've likely got their hands on every binary digit floating around out there!! I wonder if some secret government website monitoring agency has read this already. Patriot Act, anyone?
Monkeys! I feel like I have to monitor my every move now. (Note to self: donate 1/3 of time and money to the United States Government to save face.)
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, sad birthday, Internet, you scare the bejesus out of me.
--Adios babies, Kathleen.
P.S. If you want to read more on the 50th Anniversary of the Internet, you can read the Vanity Fair article, which I found here. It's nine pages. Enjoy! Also, I would like to know what YOU think. So, what do you think? Let me know below.
Style has meandered its way into the Heartland
I am no Prada, no Carrie Bradshaw, and certainly no supermodel, but I know style when I see it. And I see it here. Iowa City, by means of acting as a magnet of people from all over the country and the world, has a definitive fashion sensibility. Directly affected by weather and culture, Iowa City sidewalks are adorned with style that reflects the UI population and the community of the town. And so being new to the DI staff, and being a young duck eager to get my hands dirty with initiative and ideals, I suggested (and the staff warmly accepted and encouraged) a weekly column profiling someone who's fashion I believe is not only inventive and awe-worthy, but that is also tres Iowa City. This weeks first victim:
Frannie Owens, 22, Art student, Graduating this summer – picture taken on Washington St.
Do you have a style mantra or something that directs your dress?
If it’s clean, I’ll wear it.
What is your favorite item of clothing?
My Cheap Monday raw denim pants.
Do you shop in Iowa City ever?
No. Online.
The interview was brief (she was in the middle of many errands she told me), but I love the look. Lots of prints and ideas are connected by a similar color scheme that is succinct and cohesive. The look is feminine and utilitarian and it works.
So, there it is. Comments, suggestions, and praises (if you could be so kind) to this baby-of-a-column would be so very greatly appreciated. Look for Frannie's printed profile this Thursday in 80 Hours.
Peace out, mes petits fashionistas.
--A
Gimme Cover
I am sorry I am not sorry that I always begin my posts with a lolcat. Personally, I just don't get people who don't get it. Whatevsies. On to the fun!
I set aside my blog about "Top 10 songs for the Deluge of 2008" to think about something a little more pertinent to my interests. Also I am sick of trying to figure out how to get out of Iowa City from my apartment without drowning. It's hopeless. So I promised a list of best covers a few months back, and I've been hoarding them ever since, scoping out top 100 lists and friends' iTunes for weeks. It's been a long and arduous task, but I am committed to this list. (I wish I could also make a list of my favorite songs that have been covered. "Zombie" by the Cranberries would be right at the top.) These aren't the best. These are just my faves. I promised. I delivered. Bam kazow in yo teeth.
Hot covers (for a hot humid muggy mosquito day):
1. Bamboo Banga, M.I.A. (Modern Lovers cover, seriously doctored to cool status)
2. Tainted Love, Marilyn Manson (Ed Cobb cover covered/made famous by Soft Cell and many others)
3. Exit Music (for a film), Vampire Weekend (Radiohead cover, duh. I'm not a VW fan in general (probably one of the few admitting it) but this is a sick cover. They managed to screw up the 2:50 swell. i.d.i.o.t.s. oh well.)
4. Personal Jesus, Marilyn Manson (Depeche Mode cover, also see Johnny Cash's version. glorious.)
5. I Am The Walrus, Bono and the Secret Machines (Beatles cover)
6. Teardrop, Jose Gonzalez (Massive Attack cover)
7. I Want Candy, White Williams (This is single handedly the most covered song in the history of music, according to me. oh wellz, because this one's still got my vote)
8. The Man Who Sold The World, Nirvana (David Bowie cover)
9. Sweet Dreams, Marilyn Manson (Eurythmics cover. I know it looks like I listen to a lot of Marilyn, but these are the only 3 songs I have by him. I promise.)
10. Seven Nation Army, The Flaming Lips (White Stripes cover! sirens galore! weeeeee!)
11. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Cat Power (Rolling Stones cover. Cat Power's album The Covers Record is phenomenal in general.)
12. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan cover. Everyone covers this one as well.)
13. Born to Run, K-OS (Bruce Springsteen cover)
14. Dear Prudence, Siouxsie and the Banshees (Beatles cover)
15. God Only Knows, Petra Haden (Beach Boys cover)
16. Higher Ground, Red Hot Chili Peppers (Stevie Wonder cover)
17. Heartbeats, Jose Gonzalez (The Knife cover. Jose has the Midas touch. I kid you not.)
18. I Think We're Alone, Girls Aloud (Tommy James and the Shondells cover)
19. The Chauffeur, Deftones (Duran Duran cover. This is such an amazing b-side.)
20. World in My Eyes, The Cure (Depeche Mode cover)
21. Within You Without You, Sonic Youth (Beatles cover)
22. Superstar, Sonic Youth (Carpenters cover. I realize it is impossible to match Karen Carpenter's glassy voice, but this is a fine fine cover- also on the Juno soundtrack.)
23. Psycho Killer, James Hall (Talking Heads cover)
24. Because the Night, 10000 Maniacs (Patti Smith cover. incredible how much their voices sound alike!)
25. Love will Tear us Apart, Susanna the Magical Orchestra (Joy Division cover. again, hard to beat, but it gets the originality points.)
Bam kazow in Yo Teeth. Feel free to leave a nasty comment about some awesome cover I left out of my list.
Stay Hot. Be Cool.
Ann
P.S. Best lyric of the week? Young Jeezy, "Put On"
"Passenger's a redbone, her weeve look like some curly fries /
Inside fish sticks, outside tartar sauce /
Pocket full of celery, imagine what she tellin me /
Blowin on asparagus, the realest shit I ever smoked /
Ridin to that Trap or Die, the realest shit I ever wrote /
They know I got that broccoli, so I keep that glock with me."
bahahahahahahahahhhhhhhh
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
playlist for finals week
Dear Arts staff, who keeps writing posts without signing them? You are so sly.
Here it is: the top 10 tracks spinning this week on the macbook. Quick, Rob, gimme some good tunez for finals week.
10. North American Scum- LCD Soundsystem
9. Creator- Santogold (aka the next MIA)
8. Sunfair- Creeper Lagoon
7. Watch My Feet- Dude & Nem (Jarrett's pick of the semester. don't watch me, watch my feet!)
6. Shut Up and Let Me Go- The Ting Tangs (shamelessly swiped from an iPod commercial. Goodbye, indie cred, goodbye.)
5. The Chauffeur- Deftones (Duran Duran cover)
4. Computer Camp Love- Datarock
3. What Is Love- Haddaway. This song is why 1993 was such a great year. Baby don't hurt me.
2. Puppets- Atmosphere (this album is 100% wicked awesome)
1. Who You Gonna Run To?- Solid Gold
No other set of 10 songs could describe me quite so well right now. This is me on May 14, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. OH crap. Portuguese final. like. now.
-ANN
Here it is: the top 10 tracks spinning this week on the macbook. Quick, Rob, gimme some good tunez for finals week.
10. North American Scum- LCD Soundsystem
9. Creator- Santogold (aka the next MIA)
8. Sunfair- Creeper Lagoon
7. Watch My Feet- Dude & Nem (Jarrett's pick of the semester. don't watch me, watch my feet!)
6. Shut Up and Let Me Go- The Ting Tangs (shamelessly swiped from an iPod commercial. Goodbye, indie cred, goodbye.)
5. The Chauffeur- Deftones (Duran Duran cover)
4. Computer Camp Love- Datarock
3. What Is Love- Haddaway. This song is why 1993 was such a great year. Baby don't hurt me.
2. Puppets- Atmosphere (this album is 100% wicked awesome)
1. Who You Gonna Run To?- Solid Gold
No other set of 10 songs could describe me quite so well right now. This is me on May 14, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. OH crap. Portuguese final. like. now.
-ANN
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Netflix changed my life
Five reasons why Netflix is the best thing that ever happened to me:
1. Countless selection of foreign films (and helpful descriptions of them) not available at Blockbuster.
2. Unlimited watch-instantly viewing, which translates into watching The Office pretty much all the time.
3. My parents pay for it.
4. No late fees, so my parents don't get mad about having to pay for that, too.
5. They mail it right to me so I don't have to get out of my pajamas for an entire weekend (except to go to meeting).
Wow...I'm a living, breathing advertisement.
1. Countless selection of foreign films (and helpful descriptions of them) not available at Blockbuster.
2. Unlimited watch-instantly viewing, which translates into watching The Office pretty much all the time.
3. My parents pay for it.
4. No late fees, so my parents don't get mad about having to pay for that, too.
5. They mail it right to me so I don't have to get out of my pajamas for an entire weekend (except to go to meeting).
Wow...I'm a living, breathing advertisement.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Upclose Q&A with Visiting Author, Keith Gessen
Keith Gessen’s just published his first novel, “All the Sad Literary Men” after nearly five years of workshopping, backburning and writing, writing, writing.
The Russian-born, 33-year-old, interchangeable novelist slash journalist, has hit the road, and hard traveling to Iowa City’s Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., for his eighth reading tonight, May 5, at 7 p.m.
DI reporter Brigid Marshall caught the Harvard and Syracuse University-educated author in between Chicago and Iowa City, to pump the East Coast-native with questions.
BM: So, what is it really like to transition from writing for magazines and newspapers to having your first novel, out and published?
KG: It’s a real experience. But it’s still pretty early, and so far it’s been read, kind of, only by the reviewers. And the reviews of the book is kind of interesting, but after a while they all kind of start saying the same things as the first one.
BM: So how many places have you stopped at to promote the book?
KG: Seven cities down and seven more to go — There have really been a lot of stops.
BM: Now that you’ve had your first book published, do you think you’re going to stick just with novels or are you going to continue with N+1 and writing for other publications?
KG: There’s still some thing I want to do journalistically. [Writing] is something I’ve always wanted to do. I studied the history of literature [at Harvard] and, well, I didn’t do the newspaper. After graduation I refused to get a job and just worked odd jobs and wrote stories.
BM: When did you decide to go back to school and write the book?
KG: After a few years of [writing book reviews], I decided to go do the MFA program at Syracuse…I’ve never really liked being in school very much…The workshop is very useful for starting out and working out some of the problems in your fiction, but at some point you just have to forget about all those people. A good more than half of it went through a workshop environment.
BM: What was the most challenging, or difficult part of the book?
KG: Starting it was hard. It took me a while to figure out the voice. I went through sort of a lot of stories indicative of other writers’ work…Yeah, it took me a while to write this story. And when I was trying to finish it. I was writing about these three guys that messed up their lives, and I had to finish their stories. I could see how things would play out in their lives.
BM: Do you relate to your characters at all? Often authors’ first work of fiction has that tendency to be made of parts of their own life.
KG: They’re all kind of versions of me. They’re kind of these creative, goofier versions of me. I’m very sympathetic to them even though they’re not me completely.
BM: What part of the book are you going to read? Is there a particular passage that lends itself to certain audiences?
KG: It depends; I’ve been reading different things, like when I’m in New York reading I read a passage from one of the sections that takes place in New York. Some parts are a bit more straightforward and stick well. A lot of the book is set in contemporary life and deals with problems in contemporary life…it’s not quite literary in away. In the best readings people have responded to it being about contemporary issues like dating and being in your twenties, not having any money.
BM: So, what would you say, not to be cliché, but what would you say is the point, or “life lesson” of the book?
KG: I’m not uncomfortable with it having a life lesson. I think it’s totally fine for fiction to be moral. I think fiction ought to be. I believe in it. It’s about guys who are not necessarily bad guys, you’re not supposed to think if them as monsters, and yet, they hurt the people around them and mess up their lives because of their intellectual confusion, and this misinterpretation of what it means to be an intellectual, thinking person. It’s a field guide. In a way it’s kind of a journey to that. It might serve as a warning.
BM: What do you want audiences to take away from it?
KG: I wanted it to be as honest as possible about this stage, about what it means to be in your 20s in Boston, New York, and not have any money — what it’s like to go through and have various relationships. I wanted it to be as honest as I could make it, which meant not exaggerating how bad these guys were.
BM: With this honesty and it being fiction, while the characters are in some ways you, do you ever find yourself wanting to fall into nonfiction?
KG: Fiction is not doing as much of the lives of these people and just fictionalizing them. I made them more interesting than me, than my life. With fiction, paradoxically you can be more honest, partly because there’s a fiction in the fiction. If this were a memoir I’d be tempted to justify myself. You can be harder on the characters, and it can be darker. For the moment, I’m staying with fiction.
BM: Who are you aiming your audience to be at this reading?
KG: I hope students come because this is a book for young people who are about to launch themselves out into the world.
The Russian-born, 33-year-old, interchangeable novelist slash journalist, has hit the road, and hard traveling to Iowa City’s Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., for his eighth reading tonight, May 5, at 7 p.m.
DI reporter Brigid Marshall caught the Harvard and Syracuse University-educated author in between Chicago and Iowa City, to pump the East Coast-native with questions.
BM: So, what is it really like to transition from writing for magazines and newspapers to having your first novel, out and published?
KG: It’s a real experience. But it’s still pretty early, and so far it’s been read, kind of, only by the reviewers. And the reviews of the book is kind of interesting, but after a while they all kind of start saying the same things as the first one.
BM: So how many places have you stopped at to promote the book?
KG: Seven cities down and seven more to go — There have really been a lot of stops.
BM: Now that you’ve had your first book published, do you think you’re going to stick just with novels or are you going to continue with N+1 and writing for other publications?
KG: There’s still some thing I want to do journalistically. [Writing] is something I’ve always wanted to do. I studied the history of literature [at Harvard] and, well, I didn’t do the newspaper. After graduation I refused to get a job and just worked odd jobs and wrote stories.
BM: When did you decide to go back to school and write the book?
KG: After a few years of [writing book reviews], I decided to go do the MFA program at Syracuse…I’ve never really liked being in school very much…The workshop is very useful for starting out and working out some of the problems in your fiction, but at some point you just have to forget about all those people. A good more than half of it went through a workshop environment.
BM: What was the most challenging, or difficult part of the book?
KG: Starting it was hard. It took me a while to figure out the voice. I went through sort of a lot of stories indicative of other writers’ work…Yeah, it took me a while to write this story. And when I was trying to finish it. I was writing about these three guys that messed up their lives, and I had to finish their stories. I could see how things would play out in their lives.
BM: Do you relate to your characters at all? Often authors’ first work of fiction has that tendency to be made of parts of their own life.
KG: They’re all kind of versions of me. They’re kind of these creative, goofier versions of me. I’m very sympathetic to them even though they’re not me completely.
BM: What part of the book are you going to read? Is there a particular passage that lends itself to certain audiences?
KG: It depends; I’ve been reading different things, like when I’m in New York reading I read a passage from one of the sections that takes place in New York. Some parts are a bit more straightforward and stick well. A lot of the book is set in contemporary life and deals with problems in contemporary life…it’s not quite literary in away. In the best readings people have responded to it being about contemporary issues like dating and being in your twenties, not having any money.
BM: So, what would you say, not to be cliché, but what would you say is the point, or “life lesson” of the book?
KG: I’m not uncomfortable with it having a life lesson. I think it’s totally fine for fiction to be moral. I think fiction ought to be. I believe in it. It’s about guys who are not necessarily bad guys, you’re not supposed to think if them as monsters, and yet, they hurt the people around them and mess up their lives because of their intellectual confusion, and this misinterpretation of what it means to be an intellectual, thinking person. It’s a field guide. In a way it’s kind of a journey to that. It might serve as a warning.
BM: What do you want audiences to take away from it?
KG: I wanted it to be as honest as possible about this stage, about what it means to be in your 20s in Boston, New York, and not have any money — what it’s like to go through and have various relationships. I wanted it to be as honest as I could make it, which meant not exaggerating how bad these guys were.
BM: With this honesty and it being fiction, while the characters are in some ways you, do you ever find yourself wanting to fall into nonfiction?
KG: Fiction is not doing as much of the lives of these people and just fictionalizing them. I made them more interesting than me, than my life. With fiction, paradoxically you can be more honest, partly because there’s a fiction in the fiction. If this were a memoir I’d be tempted to justify myself. You can be harder on the characters, and it can be darker. For the moment, I’m staying with fiction.
BM: Who are you aiming your audience to be at this reading?
KG: I hope students come because this is a book for young people who are about to launch themselves out into the world.
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