Oscar Hopes & Dreams 2014

Up until I think Thursday, I was thinking the Oscars were today. I just had the date set in my head and was going as fast as I could trying to see everything in time to have a valid-ish opinion come Oscar night. Then I found out I had another whole week! But I might as well post this now. I'd resigned myself to missing the shorts and some of the documentary and foreign film contenders but I might be able to fit those in this week. For now they will be kind of blank. I'm just going to go through these categories in order and say who I'd like to see win, whether they seem likely or not.

Best Picture:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick:  I would love to see Her win because it was a beautiful thing and probably my favorite film of the year, saying so much about us as human beings and our reliance on detached "others" (writers, artists, computer programmers, whatever) to help us reach very human connections and the deepest feelings. But its chances are low. I'd also be absolutely tickled to see one of the other underdogs win, such as Nebraska or maybe Philomena. Not that those seemed particularly outstanding (more just lovely small stories, the type of movie I generally prefer), I just like to see that sort of thing recognized. 
• Other Top Pick: Out of the movies with a fighting chance (American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street maybe), I'm pulling for 12 Years A Slave. Not only because it's Very Important That We Americans Remember This Painful Part Of Our History, but because it's a hell of an epic story of a man and his journey home.
• Other comments: I feel like there's a backlash against American Hustle coming in. I remember quite loving it when I saw it, but looking back at it I'm having kind of middling feelings toward it, thinking it was merely "good" and not really anything new for David O. Russell. He's kind of on a hot streak but in retrospect it seems like it'll not quite measure up to The Fighter or (hopefully) some of his future works. Captain Phillips was a good action film and I appreciated it not so much making the pirates out to be bad guys but people that have their own needs for survival in a world that has turned its back on them. Dallas Buyers Club was good but not as great as I was expecting (maybe my own fault, I was pretty tired when I watched it so I might have missed something). Gravity was wonderful and is probably my second place pick for movies-with-a-chance. The way it depicted loneliness and isolation without getting boring, that it was really a rollercoaster playing out in real time, it made the runtime just fly right by. Nebraska seems like the type of movie I would like to make someday. Philomena was very very touching. The Wolf of Wall Street reminded me of Goodfellas, just another great Scorsese picture and his best in quite some time.

Lead Actor:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: Again, I gotta give it to 12 Years A Slave. Chiwetel Ejiofor turned in one hell of a performance. There was a moment during that film that it just flipped in my mind that he is a leading man, that he should win the Oscar and go on to a very successful career in leading roles from now on. It was when he started singing. The strength of his voice offering hope but giving way to pain, written all over his face, all in one closeup shot.
• Other comments: Bruce Dern was great in Nebraska and it'd be neat to see him win. Matthew McConaughey was brilliant as always and will probably take it. Those three are my top contenders and if it's not one of these three I will be quite puzzled.

Lead Actress:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: This is a really strong field here. I think the competition is tougher in the lead actress field than the lead actor field this year. Cate Blanchett's performance in Blue Jasmine is one of the greatest I've ever seen, the fragility and bitchiness of her character so perfectly portrayed.
• Other comments: But damnit the rest were so great that there's a chance she won't win! I think Amy Adams is great (and she was great in American Hustle) but she just wasn't on the level of these other nominees. Another year maybe. Sandra Bullock carried Gravity nearly solo, which I don't think most could do. Judi Dench was heartbreakingly sweet in Philomena and probably made me cry more than anyone else in this field. Meryl Streep is always fabulous but she should give someone else a chance.

Supporting Actor:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: This is an odd assortment here. And a little weaker than usual. I'd probably give it to Jared Leto as the tragic transgendered character in Dallas Buyers Club even though that role just screams Oscar Bait already. He still gave a very nuanced performance that could have easily gone too far in one direction or another but he hit just the right notes.
• Barkhad Abdi had the only other particularly deserving performance in my opinion in Captain Phillips. What I said earlier about the way it didn't take the easy way out in villainizing the pirates had a lot to do with him in his half-sympathetic portrayal. I am a big fan of Michael Fassbender (particularly when he's working with Steve McQueen) but I just didn't find enough nuance in his part in 12 Years A Slave.

Supporting Actress:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: Lupita Nyong'o for sure. The spirit of that character, so unbreakable despite her breakable physicality, so breakable was my heart!
• Other Comments: Sally Hawkins was awesome too. Why does Jennifer Lawrence keep winning awards for American Hustle?? Love her (and rooted for her back when she was nominated for Winter's Bone) but she again just seems out of her league here (or at least the role didn't call for her to exercise her range as much as an Oscar role should). Julia Roberts was one of the saving factors of August: Osage County. June Squibb was absolutely delightful in Nebraska and I wouldn't mind seeing her win but I don't know what her chances are with such a comedic role.

Animated Feature:

• I saw: None of them.
• Top Pick: No idea. Let's just say The Wind Rises because it appears to be beautiful and I feel like the commercial ones always win this category.
• Other Comments: none. I recorded The Croods so I could potentially watch that one before the awards. I haven't seen Despicable Me but I also recorded Despicable Me 2 if I feel like it...Oh and I'm sure Frozen will win.

Cinematography:

• I saw: All except for The Grandmaster (but I did see pieces of the cinematography...).
• Top Pick: Roger Deakins for Prisoners. Deakins is still the greatest DP working and he still gets robbed every year. He manages to keep getting nominated so it's not as though he's not recognized at all. Watching Prisoners just exemplified how upper echelon his stuff is. He seems to be working on more commercial action movies lately, I wonder if he'd have a better chance if he got back with the Coen Brothers...not that he ever got the win for any of his brilliant work for them in the past. 
• Other Comments:  Gravity might win, it is pretty astonishingly beautiful. It'd be cruel but maybe Bruno Delbonnel will win for Inside Llewyn Davis (which went pretty much unrecognized otherwise in the nominations), it was a great looking film. I don't know if Phedon Papamichel should win for Nebraska; it seems like it got nominated because it's a well photographed black and white film which is unique. But it ain't no Manhattan...

Production Design:

• I saw: All except for The Great Gatsby.
• Top Pick: We're starting to get into fields that I'm less interested in but I'll say Her for two reasons: It took place in a future not too far away and was a very believable portrayal of that, with varying degrees of subtlety in design. Or if not a future, I originally viewed it as an alternate present time. Some future technology not too different from our own but fashion of the 70s or 80s or something. Just a slightly different version of our universe that makes the whole thing feel timeless. Oh yeah, the other reason. Just that I want Her to win pretty much everything it's nominated for because it's not nominated for a lot.
• Other Comments: All the nominees are so different from each other that it's hard to say which direction the voters will go. Probably one that will go to the same movie as what wins best picture (American Hustle or 12 Years A Slave) just to be another in its overall number of wins.

Costume Design:

• I saw: Only American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave.
• Top Pick: You know, whatever. Probably American Hustle.There were some outrageous outfits in that one.
• Other Comments: None.

Directing:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: What no Spike Jonze nomination?? Steve McQueen then. Because of what I said above for best picture. Seriously, how is best director different from best picture?
• Other Comments: See other comments from best picture nominees. I respect all of these directors greatly. It looks like there's never been a black best director winner which is odd (Spike Lee's never won??), so I think it's time. Otherwise Alfonso Cuaron would be a good choice for Gravity. It'd be cool to see him win.

Documentary Feature:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: The Act of Killing is kind of a no-brainer for this one. It's just so intense and fearless and an interesting study of these unrepentant monsters. A must-see.
• Other Comments: Cutie and the Boxer was nice to watch after all the other docs about turbulence and war and such, just an interesting look at two very different artists in their art, personalities, and suffering. Dirty Wars was a good expose of something awful that is going on, it just got kind of annoying that the filmmaker felt the need to insert himself into it so much. It was amazing seeing the Egyptian revolution from the inside with The Square. I guess the favorite to win is 20 Feet From Stardom. I did enjoy it (another lighter hearted joy and I love me some Merry Clayton) but c'mon, The Act of Killing was life changing.

Documentary Short:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall was another no-brainer for me. A story of redemption, showing how caring and loving people doing life sentences for murder and kidnapping can be, and then the devastating scenes of Pvt. Hall's last moments with his son, it just stuck with me in a way that I don't think I can ever forget.
• Other Comments: CaveDigger was cute but didn't seem to be on the same level as the rest. But it was also the only lighthearted movie of the bunch, so good on it for not being depressing! Facing Fear was another story of redemption and forgiveness that stuffed a whole lot into its short running time. And an astonishing story that I wouldn't believe would really happen, but it did. Karama Has No Walls was the most intense movie of the program and probably of my whole season of watching Oscar movies. Just absolutely devastating, it did not hold back, those cameras were right there in the revolution and in the resulting suffering. Those children. They're just children! The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life had the most wonderful woman as a subject and it really just brought a different perspective to many things for me; I couldn't believe what I was hearing these women say. I would not mind seeing this one win either. 

Film Editing:

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: I probably have to give it to Captain Phillips. The pacing just made it so intense. 
• Other Comments: Normally I really notice and like how David O Russell movies are paced/cut, but I didn't really notice much of that in American Hustle. Most of these nominees are just good movies but I don't remember the editing being anything unique...

Foreign Language Film:

• I saw: Everything but The Missing Picture and Omar.
• Top Pick: Probably The Great Beauty. It was the intellectual art film of the three nominees I saw. Just so beautifully constructed and shot, written, just one of those pictures, you know? How it showed this great party scene but really made you feel the isolation of everyone in attendance even as they took part in debauchery and ridiculousness...the isolation of everyone! In search of something...
• Other Comments: Couldn't really find any means of seeing The Missing Picture or Omar. But The Broken Circle Breakdown was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. It plays like one of the great old country songs. Just the way these two very opposite people deal with a shared tragedy is so well done, and this film had me bawling repeatedly. Great music too! The Hunt was an extraordinary picture about some very unfortunate circumstances that lead to great suffering by one person at the hands of many without having any actual villains...everyone's behavior was based on compassion and reason and that's why it hurt so much!

Makeup & Hairstyling

• I saw: Only Dallas Buyers Club.
• Top Pick: I'll just say Dallas Buyers Club for Jared Leto.
• Other Comments: I don't want a Jackass movie to win an Oscar. Does that make me stuffy and out of touch? And is there anything great about the makeup and hairstyling in The Lone Ranger aside from making Johnny Depp look ridiculous?

Music (Original score): 

• I saw: Gravity, Her, and Philomena
• Top Pick: Wouldn't it be cool to see Owen Pallett & Arcade Fire win an Oscar for Her?
• Other Comments: None.

Music (Original Song):

• I saw: Her
• Top Pick: Karen O & Spike Jonze for "The Moon Song" even though it's such a simple song! Yes please!
• Other Comments: I listened to all of these songs. The U2 one just sounds like U2, which is very boring to me. The one from Frozen will probably win (if U2 doesn't win because people love some U2 for some reason) because it's one of those singer showcase songs. I wouldn't mind Pharrell winning because that song is catchy. It'd be my second choice.

Animated Short:

• I saw: None...
• Top Pick: Can't fairly say.
• Other Comments: Looks like I won't catch these...drat! They're usually so good!

Live Action Short:

• I saw: None...
• Top Pick: Can't fairly say.
• Other Comments: I missed out.

Sound Editing:

• I saw: All except All is Lost and Lone Survivor
• Top Pick: Captain Phillips I guess?.
• Other Comments: Someone with long hair. I recorded All is Lost but I don't know if I'll stress myself trying to watch before Sunday just for this nomination.

Sound Mixing:

• I saw: All except Lone Survivor
• Top Pick: Inside Llewyn Davis please! So it can win something! Also there was some skillful sound mixing, such as the scene with the guy eating cereal.
• Other Comments: I still don't get how sound mixing isn't a part of sound editing. It kind of exemplifies that in the fact that the nominees are almost always the same movies with one difference.

Visual Effects:

• I saw: All except The Lone Ranger.
• Top Pick: Gravity. The depiction of space was so lifelike, it took it to a new level. The new standard, like 2001 way back when (Kubrick's only ever Oscar win!).
• Other Comments: Iron Man 3 had decent effects as usual, the others were pretty standard fare from what I can tell. Why wasn't Pacific Rim nominated though? An easy second place!

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: Before Midnight. I'm not sure how this is "adapted" though. But it's just so real and so raw in its depiction of these same characters and where they would be at this point.
• Other Comments: Lots of strong contenders here. For me, I'm generally most interested in these writing categories because the nominees tend to be my favorite films of the year as opposed to the best picture nominees. Lots of overlap this year though.

Writing (Original Screenplay):

• I saw: All of them.
• Top Pick: Her. It might even have a chance in this category! 
• Other Comments: Again, a strong pool. I wonder if the recent hubbub about Woody Allen killed his chances here. We'll see.

And there you have it. We'll see how it shakes out very soon.

An Ear For An Era: 1986

How are we already past the halfway point of the 80s? I actually have surprisingly little 80s music relatively. Don't worry, we'll be slowing down soon. Here's 1986.

A big deal was the introduction to The Beastie Boys. License to Ill came out way back here! When hip hop was Run-DMC and Fat Boys. I don't know, I knew they were early but this is kind of crazy considering how long they stayed relevant. They like to say their names in their songs, don't they? It's hip hop for suburban white kids but it's done with passion and respect for the craft. Not that it was particularly more advanced than what Run-DMC was doing (this was the year of "It's Tricky") but they managed to keep their take on it cool for decades. Props for that.

You know who else has a band name of two B words? Big Black. I felt a little guilty listening to Big Black on an ipod but such is the nature of this project. Maybe I'll do a vinyl version one day. Anyhow, Big Black just killed it with intensity on Atomizer. Like, Kanye, Yeezus was a great album and I'ma let you finish...but Atomizer is the most intense industrial record of all time! Yes, the drum machine named Roland that sounded like a machine gun and guitars that sounded like they were being played with locomotives along with Albini's signature snarl, it's some heavy stuff man. Sorry I'm posting the most popular song in this case, but if that's what it takes to get converts so be it. Also sorry I'm posting a youtube instead of a physical record. Come over sometime and we'll listen to all sorts of Albini on wax.

Big Black "Kerosene"

Such a curiosity Enjoy! by The Descendents is. Two tracks are devoted to the most juvenile humor which I don't find enjoyable at all. There are some great pop songs on there though to balance it out. And then there are some kind of art punk tracks on here that just elevate it to such a different level. And I quite love those arty tracks (one is almost 8 minutes long!); it's just a weird collection.

I think The Edge Of The World is my favorite Mekons album. It recalls the Pogues in how the songs just beg to be sung along to. You just want to be with a big crowd of like minded people to sing these. The album has a lot of variety but that underlying aspect follows through the whole album. Listening to it, the word "shanty" came to mind. These songs are shanties. Appropriately enough, here's another song for my wake.

The Mekons "Shanty"

They Might Be Giants' self-titled debut is just so perfectly nerdy. If I ever have a child I'm going to play a lot of this band because that's the style of nerd I want to raise. A bit kitchen sink and very clever. The other thing to say about this album is that as much informed by the 80s as it seems, I'm having a hard time resolving in my head that this came out the same year as the other things. The other things are oldies. TMBG seem contemporary and/or timeless. Both.

Paul Simon. Graceland. One of those guys that you can just listen to and marvel at the lyrics. And it's pretty catchy. The appropriation of African musical styles seems a little less grating when Paul Simon does it than when Vampire Weekend did it, but I don't know if i have a justifiable reason for saying that. But you can be my bodyguard...

Nick Cave, post Birthday Party...he's got The Bad Seeds! Sure, it's album #4 with them, but I guess it's the first thing in my collection. Another glaring omission I'm sure some of those albums are. But Your Funeral...My Trial has to be one of the best. The creepiness and intensity from The Birthday Party is still there, just in a (very slightly) more subtle format. It kind of reminds me of Tom Waits' output from this era in its own odd way...just the circus and loopiness and intensity. The songs just create settings for a theatre bizarre thing to go down inside.

My favorite singer/songwriter of all time is still Elvis Costello. I haven't had much to say about his output of the past few years but boy did he turn it around in 1986. Two albums, vastly different, that happen to be my two favorite albums of his. First was King of America, notably missing the Attractions. In their place were some legendary American studio musicians that would be collectively known as The Confederates. But yeah, whatever. I don't need to re-hash the wikipedia entry here. This album is one of my favorites because I prefer his ballads and it hits all the right notes for Costello ballads while still being all over the place. The sorrow in hope. The romantic hopelessness. It's optimism about contradictions. It's also something about his delivery, the passion behind it. In 1986 you could feel every tear in his vocals (this is true whichever homonym for "tear" you use).

(If I could find a youtube video of the studio version of "I'll Wear It Proudly" it would be here. Find it on spotify or whatever because it's great!)

I don't want to be a gossip, but that passion had to have been at least partially inspired by some turbulence that was happening at the time...the break up of The Attractions paired with his blossoming relationship with/marriage to Cait O'Riordan. The best art comes out of turbulence. And Blood and Chocolate...that's turbulence. I guess it's kind of ironic that this is the album that reunited him with Nick Lowe as well as The Attractions, as it's nothing but tension and would be the last album with any of those parties for a while (not to mention his record label). Such a great break-up/kiss-off album that helped me through some tough times in college. There's fire here reminiscent of his early albums but with a wiseness that he couldn't have pulled off a decade earlier. But the wiseassness of those early days is there as well in songs like "I Hope You're Happy Now," probably the most helpful track of them all when dealing with a breakup. Even the ballads are either sarcastic (Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head) or downright creepy (I Want You). Those two tracks are back-to-back and will get the listener comfortable in their atmosphere before the jolt of "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" (possibly the closest link to classic 70s Attractions) clears the palate for the brutal and confrontational back half. King of America might be my favorite 15-song-sequence but "Blue Chair" through "Next Time Round" is five songs of perfection. And all of this tension in the production of the album, the tension of what I assume was Elvis' mindset in these days, it all comes down to this song here. There were two very different takes of the track and rather than eventually pick one to put on the album they were spliced together in a not-so-subtle fashion. Two opposing sides. Forced together uncomfortably and...it just fits.

Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Battered Old Bird"

Other things:

• Kronos Quartet have also been around forever! They've gotten pretty cool with the indie rock kids these days, but even back in 1986 they were reaching out to the rock & roll audience with a cover of "Purple Haze" done Kronos Quartet style.
• More Scratch Acid! Their 1986 output was pretty varied stylistically. Lots of different things going on, almost to the point of being poppy at times. Only a few choice intensely hardcore tracks. It's an interesting progression. Of course I prefer the ones where they go all out like "Flying Houses"
• Last week while I was listening to 1986 there was some really really bad traffic due to snow and subzero temperatures. And then this song by Mojo Nixon came on and I just wanted to do exactly what he said in the song. (Damn it "Get Out Of My Way" isn't on youtube either!)
• The Dischord/DC scene was changing all the rules of hardcore these days, wasn't it? One Last Wish seemed to be Guy Picciotto's next band after Rites of Spring. And other Rites of Spring members. The 1986 EP (not actually released until 1999 but I figured I'd follow the recording date in this case) is full of short songs and matches the intensity of RoS. And short-lived Ian MacKaye project Egg Hunt put out a couple songs that serve as a pretty good bridge between Minor Threat and Fugazi without really sounding anything like either. And other bands were pushing things forward, but I don't feel qualified to fully squish all of that information here.
• You know who was probably a bigger influence on those emo whatever bands of the early 00s? The Smiths. Talk about whiny! But I still quite love a few of their tracks even if it took me a while to come around to them. The Queen Is Dead is the album of 1986 but of course my favorite track is non-album track from that Louder Than Bombs compilation "Ask." Probably because I have shyness and it's a comfort for that.
• A Kind of Magic by Queen is kind of a mix between their rock tendencies and pop tendencies. There seems to be a one, singular vision to this song, an overarching theme of oneness. Very cohesive.
• Ok maybe Polka Party isn't a Weird Al "classic" but I still have very specific memories about listening to the tape in my dad's truck. Listening now I'm a little less enthused about the majority of this album, but "Dog Eat Dog" may be one of his greatest songs. A Talking Heads style parody, it was my introduction to that legendary band and he gets it just right.
• One of my favorite Prince jams! Kiss!
• Another year, another great song from Carmel: "I'm Not Afraid Of You." Dark brooding music but hopeful and ultimately just a super strong anthem.
• David Bowie. "Magic Dance" from Labyrinth. This is where our culture was in 1986.
• Sonny Sharrock's "Broken Toys" is some great jazz guitar. Not that I know anything about jazz guitar besides Sonny Sharrock. 

Next Time 'Round...
Boogie Down Productions AND Eric B & Rakim! Hip hop's game keeps getting stepped up! Favorite Cure album! Dag Nasty. Dinosaur Jr. Appetite for Destruction. Operation Ivy stuff. Some band called the Pixies? I finally get to another Sonic Youth album? And who's this Yo La Tengo?? And no Weird Al album in 1987??

An Ear For An Era: 1985

I feel like I should have more to say about 1985 music. There were some all-time classics released, mostly ones that I don't have as much personal experience as would be required to do any justice to these albums. But aside from a handful, lots of it was forgettable. So this one's kind of short.

The first album that came up for 1985 was the classic Weird Al piece known as Dare to Be Stupid. One of my favorites by him, for reasons such as the Devo-inspired title track and the Kinks-and-Star-Wars-inspired "Yoda." Yesterday I was skiing in the trees and my dad once said "watch out for that tree," so for the rest of the day I had "George of the Jungle" stuck in my head. But the most memorable track on here was an early favorite for sure. Keep an eye on those background singers/dancers.

"Weird Al" Yankovic "One More Minute"

Talking Heads' Little Creatures is the first albums of theirs that I got once I got cool enough to seek them out. Opener "And She Was" might still be my favorite song of theirs. But I dig the whole thing, from "Creatures of Love" to "Stay Up Late" to "Road to Nowhere." Good travel music and such.

Minor Threat released their last music, the Salad Days EP. These three songs are pretty mellow relative to their earlier output, which I guess suggests the directions Ian MacKaye would head in his post-Minor Threat days. Speaking of stuff Iam MacKaye would go on to do, his future bandmate Guy Picciotto was making waves with Rites of Spring and thanks to him we now have lots of crappy emo music in this world. But in 1985, emo meant something very different. Not to go into a history lesson, but it's much less embarrassing to refer to this music as post hardcore or whatever than emo. End On End has nothing in common whatsoever with whatever '00s emo you have in mind when I use that word (over and over I admit). It's kind of mathy, kind of post rock, and it's very heavy. It's just the wail Guy Picciotto used here, it's otherworldly, it's coming from somewhere so deep and dark and pained.

Rites of Spring "Persistent Vision"

The Cure was also obviously a big influence on what would become fake "emo" or whatever stuff with all the mopin' around. The Head On The Door is one of their better albums in my opinion (I prefer their pop music). "Close To Me" is a top tier Cure pop single. And this album was full of pop with a darkness. I don't know. I like this song though.

The Cure "Screw"

I was a late adapter of The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy but when Stephin Merritt made all those great comments on it describing its production I knew I had to hear it. It is a huge influence on the indie pop to come. Not only Magnetic Fields, but Best Coast and Animal Collective and everyone in between. All the noise and distortion serving just to obscure the pop melodies just beneath. 

Tom Waits. Rain Dogs. The follow-up to Swordfishtrombones. More experimental jazz sorrow coolness. I can't come up with the right adjectives to describe this album. But duh. It's amazing.

Something completely different again: Remember a couple years ago when that hip hop track came out starring all sorts of giants of the genre? That was cool. And a very similar thing happened in 1985 when Fat Boys, Run-DMC, Sheila E, and Kurtis Blow got together for "Krush Groovin'." That is the jam right there.

Fishbone is red hot!! One of my favorite live shows ever is any time I ever saw Fishbone. They'll get the party going. Strangely I used to not like this song when it was played on the ska show on the college radio station KCSU when I was in high school.  But that has changed. I oddly don't have this full album but this song is worth showing a video for anyway. I need to go more obscure I think. Whatever, Fishbone is red hot!

Fishbone "Party At Ground Zero"

Other things.

• The Smiths. Have I mentioned them yet? I have the "Louder Than Bombs" (their quotation marks, not mine) collection and quite enjoy the song "Asleep." And obvious hit "How Soon Is Now" was also from 1985.
• Dead Kennedys got all serious and long songy in 1985 with Frankenchrist. No more short songs, they were now focused on creating creepy atmosphere.
• They Might Be Giants demo!
• If Kurtis Blow ruled the world...
• Prince just kept being awesome with Around The World In A Day. "Raspberry Beret" was the big hit but the whole album is catchy as hell.
• Brian Ferry's Boys and Girls is pretty awesome.
• Mekons were quite good.
• The Descendents' second album took a turn for the pop. I don't mind that at all, but some of the magic of the first album is gone. They're still good at the pop stuff though.
• Tears For Fears accomplished some strange feat of sounding so dated and 80s yet aging so well. "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," "Head Over Heels," "Mothers Talk," Songs From The Big Chair is just so inspiring to listen to.

Next Time...

I'll do better. Ha! I know I phoned it in this time. Sorry. At least I picked good clips to show you. But I'll have plenty to say about 1986 because The Beastie Boys! And Big Black! And my TWO FAVORITE Elvis Costello albums. And the actual debut of They Might Be Giants. And another classic from "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Artist.

I had a pretty good day most of the day today. I went skiing with my dad, it was a lot of fun, and there was a ton of powder. And not a cloud in the sky. Not too crowded either. Oh, and I got to meet my cousin's new baby. Awesome baby. Hung out with most of the rest of the family for a super bowl party thing and had delicious food. I didn't particularly care about the football game (the original plans were to either go to a movie or a brewery bar without TVs) so I don't care that the Broncos lost. It was mostly kind of amusing that people cared so much about it.



But now I kind of take it personally when people get so distraught over this. It hurts me that you can get upset today because a bunch of grown men were bad at throwing the ball to each other and other grown men were good at taking the ball away from the first bunch.

Because we lost my favorite actor of all time.

Yes, he is only one man in the billions on this earth. And he was "just" an entertainer. And I did not know him personally. But my care for his work perhaps rivaled your passion for the super bowl. And the Broncos have next  year. PSH is gone.

Happiness. This is when I fell in love with his work. His talent. Fearlessness. The sympathy he made me feel for a character that was super creepy and gross, comically gross at times, but so sad. The non-ironic appreciation I have for Air Supply has a lot to do with that movie and that character.

Love Liza. I watched this one obsessively in college. So many times. I don't know if I'll be able to watch this one anymore. I feel like I have to at least once but it's going to hurt. The script was silly at times but the way he sold that sadness of losing a wife and not knowing how to deal with it, resorting to huffing paint, I don't know how I'll deal with watching it again. It will ring a little too true.

Boogie Nights Magnolia Punch Drunk Love The Master. I know Paul Thomas Anderson can still make a great movie without him (There Will Be Blood) but he seemed to be quite the muse and such growth can be seen just going through his PTA movies. And he wasn't afraid to play terrible people that I still somehow sympathized with because of the underlying sadness, just like Happiness.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. Owning Mahowny. Capote. Doubt. Synecdoche, New York. Oh My God. The list could just keep going. He owned every role and it's an intimidating filmography he amassed in his tragically short career.

Savages saw him team up with another master of the craft (Laura Linney) for the greatest acted movie in recent memory. Sorrow.

I saw a news story fairly recently (was that a year ago??) that he had entered rehab. Even though he'd been clean for 20 years. How does this happen? It disturbed me greatly. I didn't know he'd ever had such problems. But I was glad he got ahead of it and was taking care of himself.

One more year and here we are.

I guess for us the letter is all of the movies he left for us. I'll have to tackle those (the ones I haven't seen, and seeing the ones I've seen again) once I'm ready.