Best Music of 2008 – Mates of State

One of my favorite Christmas gifts was Re-Arrange Us, the latest CD from the band Mates of State. Though it’s their fifth full-length album, they are new to me, and I’d like to introduce them to you!

Don’t let their indie-rock posturing fool you, these two are nothing but pop music fun!

I first heard about Mates of State while listening to this All Songs Considered podcast. Guest reviewer Stephen Thompson summarizes his affection for the album thus: “I absolutely love this record. I think part of it for me is I have a seven year old and a four year old and they do not stop listening to this record, they love it so much. I think it’s the year’s most romantic record. It’s a song cycle about maintaining a loving relationship, and growing up as a couple, with kids. Re-Arranger has a chorus ‘love loud, don’t lose loud.’ And I just love that.”

That sounded great to me–I would love to listen to music I enjoy that my daughter will like, too! Well, then I heard the single “Re-Arranger” and WOW! It is fun, pop! music that just makes you feel all swelled up with happiness. Oh, but it gets better…

The band (made up of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel) is a husband-and-wife team (so cute!). Oh yeah, and they take their two little girls (Magnolia & June) on tour with them (so inspiring!!).

This ABC interview is a great little insight into their life on the road: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6407198

The way they see it, making music and raising children are their jobs; they embrace them both, together. So (and here comes the soap box) as a mom who is frustrated by the separation of income-earning and caring for children, forcing children to see Mom during the week and Dad on the weekend, I am moved by their lifestyle (even as I doubt we could personally maintain it!).

For more on this fabulous band, check out their blog, Band on the Diaper Run, and listen to their music on MySpace.

Mates of State will be at the Varsity Theatre in Minneapolis on April 12 (Easter Sunday). Click here to get yourself some tickets!

2008, was it great??????

Happy New Year!!

Now that 2009 is in full swing, let us reflect on the year that just ended. I will start by first by mentioning music and television which made for a memorable 2008. Ranking and awarding art is a fun but ultimately silly exercise, but I will try hard to compile a few definitive top-ten lists (film for sure) soon. But first some quick reflections…..

Top 10 Listing Begins

From one of Drew’s favorite film critics (“he thinks outside the box”), and care of one of my favorite uncles…

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98634268

More Top 10 lists to come from us. And, of course, we’d love to hear your Top 10 for 2008 (or Top 3 or Top 20, whatever you have!) in any pop culture category you like!

Oh, and from our house to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

“The Name is Bond, Jason Bond”

I am pretty sure I am not the only one to have used the above tagline about the latest installment of the 007 franchise, but I make no claims to being original, just an admirer of good taglines. As explained in the last post, I have not seen very many films as of late, but circumstances arose which gave me the opportunity to view Quantum of Solace twice. So a critique is in order.

We Are Bad Bloggers!!

The title of this post is in itself an apology and a fairly cool name for a band. If you need a band name of course. We have been busy and therefore not consuming as much popular culture recently.  Aside from 30 Rock, The Office, and of course The Daily Show almost every night during the just ended election season, we have not watched much else. Van Morrison’s classic Moondance has been in heavy rotation around here and we have not watched a new movie, on DVD or in theater for a while. This new parent awesomeness just realigns things a bit, which is good. Also, I am applying to Graduate school, which takes quite a bit of time.

End of excuses.

We promise more posts soon. Oscar season is right around the corner folks! Check out the trailer for Slumdog Millionaire below. Directed by one of my contemporary favorites, Danny Boyle, (Trainspotting, Millions) this film took quite a few festivals by storm and is garnering early buzz. Synopsis below:

The story of how impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik became a contestant on the Hindi version of “Who Wants to be A Millionaire?” — an endeavor made without prize money in mind, rather, an effort to prove his love for his friend Latika, who is an ardent fan of the show.

Sounds a bit cheesy I know, but it really surprised many a hard critic already and I know Danny Boyle’s visual acumen will do wonders. (Update) Looks like it is coming to the Landmark Theater in Edina on November 21.  I think it is being slowly released at first. Keep an eye out for it.

In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you, our understandably disbanded readership. What music, new fall TV shows, books, films etc, have been keeping you excited and engaged recently? We’d love to know about it.

Newman & New Dylan

Not much to say that hasn’t already been eloquently stated elsewhere about the passing of Paul Newman. He was a legend in cinema who decided to do something with his fame that impacted people positively beyond his excellent work on screen. Check out the touching tribute below by David Letterman in case you missed it. Apparently Paul Newman DVD’s have been flying off the shelves since his passing at a fantastic rate. Buy some Newman’s Own Salsa or Popcorn and enjoy Cool Hand Luke sometime soon.

Alright, Its not really “new” Bob Dylan music, but it is new to his fans. He is releasing Volume 8 of his alternate takes, rarities and bootlegs on October 7th. This 2-disc set is called “Tell Tale Signs” and consists of work spanning from the “Oh Mercy” sessions of 1989 up to his most recent work, “Modern Times.” NPR has access to both discs for a bit and is streaming them for free here. If you are familiar with his most recent 3 or 4 albums at all, it is really fun to hear the evolution of his songs before they make the cut, and the live and b-side tracks are pure gold. It’s probably sold-out already, but If you have some extra cash lying around, you could get tickets off a scalper or Craigslist to see him perform on election night at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. I have seen him twice and he puts on a fantastic show. His touring band is always aces and he even smiles once in a while now.

Presidential Candidates’ Favorite Films

We haven’t posted anything of a real political nature before, but hey, tis the season, and this is on topic…

Click here for a brief interview with the Repubilcan and Democratic candidates (remember, there are others!) regarding their favorite films. Does it help you make your decision? Thanks to Cathy for this link!

Hello Autumn! ***update: Chabon interview link fixed.

Another round of randomness…..

First music. I have been smitten by yet another band from Austin, TX by the name of Okkervil River. Their latest album is called The Stand Ins and is fantastic! Okkervil River along with Shearwater and Spoon make Austin a veritable indie music mecca. In an interesting promotional move for this album, Okkervil River asked friends of theirs to interpret each of the songs and be their “stand ins.” The results have been posted on YouTube for your enjoyment. Check out the one below by A. C. Newman of The New Pornographers along with Will Sheff of Okkervil River doing the killer pop gem “Lost Coastlines.” Others feature Bon Iver and many more.

Second is author Michael Chabon. He is one of my favorite contemporary writers and I just finished his latest work of fiction, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. Set in an alternate history where a small section of Alaska, not Israel, becomes home to millions of displaced Jews after World War II, it essentially is a hard-boiled detective story told in a very unique setting. Reading Chabon is rewarding on many levels, with great characters, themes and bold command of language. I am very curious what the Coen brothers will do with this story, as I have heard they bought the rights to the book for adaptation on the big screen. I may do a more in-depth review/critique of the book soon. Chabon is also an eloquent apologist for ideas that this blog hold dear, namely embracing what others may call “low” culture and engaging it in a serious manner. This interview deals with this aspect primarily and is also one of the many subjects found in his latest work of non-fiction essays, Maps and Legends.

Happy watching, listening and reading!

A Truly Pleasurable Read

Last month my mother-in-law, Katie, read Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. She so enjoyed it (finishing it in less than two days) that I was inspired to borrow it and read it myself. I knew that I’d read this book at some point in my public school education, but only the names of the characters were still familiar to me… Atticus, Scout, Jem, Boo…

Now I’ve finished the book (it took me a little longer, but hey, I’m a new mom, right!?) and I wanted to write a post about the experience because I can’t remember the last time I was so taken with a book; I’m considering reading it again, right away, I was so tremendously pleased with it!

On the one hand it is the lovingly-told account of an adventuresome girl growing up during the Great Depression. On the other hand it is the complex story of a black man on trial in the deep South and a nuanced telling of its repercussions on a small town. Harper Lee’s narration from the perspective of a six-year-old is captivating and the convention of placing multiple stories within a story is executed so cogently [thank you to Drew for the word-choice there].

Kerri Miller’s Midmorning Book Club read To Kill A Mockingbird back in March of this year. (To listen to that program click here.) Some listeners said this was the most influential book they’d ever read, after the Bible. At the time the show’s promos aired I thought that sounded completely over-the-top, but the craft and beauty of this book is, in my opinion, quite inspired indeed. Some may lament the fact that Lee never wrote another novel, but reading it I had the sense that this book was as much a gift to Lee as it was her gift to us…there is nothing else she needed to give us, Scout’s story is enough.

I hope to watch the fim version of To Kill A Mockingbird soon, and I’d like to invite each of you to pick up the book, or the movie, or both. If you do, as always, I’d love to hear what you think.

A Few Short Reviews

Here are three reviews of the most recent films I’ve seen in a theater or on DVD.

The Dark Knight (2008): the comic book film that the comic book dork [me] has been waiting for, supposedly. Director Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Prestige) extends the themes from the excellent franchise reboot Batman Begins, and deftly explores the nature of justice in a world in which all systems are corrupt. Is vigilante justice really the answer, or are heroes by nature prone to the same abuses of power from which they vow to protect the innocent? The production value, cinematography and acting are all superb, with a script and dialog that takes these cerebral themes seriously within the context of a big action blockbuster, which is no small thing.

Yes, Heath Ledger delivers an intriguingly creepy performance as Batman’s arch rival, Joker, and the character does well in exposing the hypocrisy of both villain and hero in a world which requires compromise. Yes, the film is in many ways a perfect example of how a popular genre, the superhero, can be artfully done. However, because there is so much going on in the film thematically and because the pacing cruises by at such a clip, there is almost a feeling of overload by the film’s end.

After watching it a second time I was able to digest much more but feel the film could have ended about a half hour earlier or used its length to add some scenes which allow for a bit of contemplation. There simply is no time taken in this film for such embellishments and while many are calling this the Godfather or Heat of comic book films, those crime epics allowed for such moments of deliberate pacing, which make them just a notch better than The Dark Knight.

Pixar is pretty much the most consistent modern film studio, they make excellent work feature after feature. This all boils down to one thing. Story. Since these animated films take so long to make from beginning to end, the filmmakers at Pixar make sure they have an intriguing story to tell before they commit one pixel to a hard-drive.

Wall-E (2008) is no exception to the aforementioned excellence. The attention to detail is breathtaking, be it the human like qualities of our hero robot, which the filmmakers borrow from Chaplin and Keaton with adroit affection, or the dystopic vision of a planet which is left for dead by a humanity that has consumed itself out of a home.

This film is both intelligent science fiction—in that it questions the nature of humanity—and a great romantic comedy rolled into one. And Wall-E is actually quite bold in the message it delivers to its viewers and it doesn’t have to resort to polarizing buzz words (“global warming,” “alternative fuels”) for the effect to be quite sobering. In the end that is what good storytelling does, reveal rather than malign.

At the prompting of a friend, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (2007) was moved to the top of our Netflix queue and good grief was it worth it. This film, by director Julian Schnaebel, won the best director prize at the Cannes film festival and was nominated for four Academy Awards. It tells the true story of a paralyzed man and how he communicates with the only part of his body unaffected by the paralysis: his left eye.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is visually astounding and a perfect example of form fitting function. A good third of the film is told from the main character’s point of view, which is something that has to be seen for oneself in order to grasp the creative lengths this film goes to to communicate the story. A meditation on the transformative power of creativity, no matter one’s circumstances, this film shows us how creativity can liberate and teach one about others and oneself.

Schnaebel is most notably a painter and has only done four films, but with this film he has placed himself in the big leagues by creating such a beautiful and somber film which stays with the viewer long after the credits role.