iTunes song #6000: Elvis Costello & the Attractions "Alison"
It would seem that Xiu Xiu is coming to the Triple Rock Social Club
on Thursday, 11 March, to entertain fans of all ages for eight dollars.
We are going to have an Olympics this summer, right, Athens?
Following Kevin's lead,
here are my ten songs I'd listen to on repeat for 24 hours, listed in
relative order of how old I was when it came to my attention that they
should be placed on such a list:
01 Neil Young "Heart of Gold"
02 The Clash "Lost in the Supermarket"
03 Brian Eno "The Big Ship"
04 Weezer "The Good Life" or almost anything else from Pinkerton
05 Bob Dylan "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"
06 The Smiths "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
07 Richard Thompson "Cooksferry Queen"
08 Interpol "NYC"
09 Guided by Voices "I Am A Scientist" [EP Version]
10 My Morning Jacket "The Way That He Sings" among others
Headphones allow listeners to regain personal space.
Imminent doom!
Okay, so apparently if you click on the bar above your album artwork
in iTunes where it probably says "Selected Song", it will change to
"Now Playing" and it will always show artwork for the song that is
playing, which is good.
The Carleton DVD Fest took place this evening. It's sort of a big
advertisement for Apple and sort of a film festival, but it works
pretty well and the advertising aspect isn't too overstated. There were
some great entries (all entries are under five minutes) and some that
didn't work as well as their creators had probably wished, but it was
an enjoyable time. The two big winners were a stop motion film
consisting of thousands of photographs and a silent, black and white
film with special effects used to make it look dated.
iTunes song #7000: Joy Division "Candidate"
Song #7000 was but one of many Colleen generously shared with me last night.
The Guardian on the negative social impact of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs:
"The film's most serious consequence seemed to be an outbreak of young
men wearing black suits, calling each other Mr Orange and refusing to
tip in restaurants."
The full article about Amnesty International's attack on Kill Bill.
Way to go, abstinence!
The beginning of the universe.
Naomi Klein against outsourcing "low-wage, low-prestige jobs."
Another AFA poll backfires.
I won't have another radio show until 16 April, but this was a good
way to close out the term. Only two mistakes: allowing the second
DM/Jay-Z track to play and a pause after the end of "Cooksferry Queen"
as I realized that "Bill McCai" wasn't broadcasting, but luckily I had
"July, July!" lined up. I might try to make this one into a mix CD,
which is something I've thought might be a good idea for a while, using
Audacity to fade the tracks in and out of one another. We'll see how
that goes, attempting to subtract 10 minutes from the show to fit the
time constraints. There's also the fact that I don't have the Ill Lit
or Rapture tracks, but I won't let that stand in my way.
Today I picked up my good-as-new sandals, ready for spring break,
which I'd taken in yesterday right before preordering Iron & Wine's
new album, Our Endless Numbered Days, at Fine Groove, the proprietor of which could be the older brother of James Woods who plays the father in Virgin Suicides,
because I wanted to use my coupon and the used selection held no
treasures. Then I went and heard Xiu Xiu and two other bands at the
Triple Rock Social Club, where I felt like I was being entertained
while on board a spacecraft, due to the decor and the bizarre music.
More Professor Yeti!
US police put hip-hop under surveillance
The mix CD
has been heroically completed, clocking in at 79:59 or so, though that
includes several seconds of silence at the end. Now I will finish
studying for my Macroeconomics exam, take it, keep working on the Stats
take-home, pack, and, by Monday morning, leave.
One word: Tucson. Two words: Car repair.
...for a summary of my Spring Break activities and a slide show of
pictures. The slide show is almost done but I am too tired to get it
into presentable form tonight.
And here is what happened on my Spring Break:
Monday: I ate breakfast with Colleen and turned in my Stats
take-home exam (which seems to have gone okay). I then drove south
towards Des Moines to see my high school boys basketball team play in
the first round of the state tournament. It started snowing soon after
crossing into Iowa and got nasty for the last hour. I almost ran out of
gas, but refilled just in time and slid into the parking lot just in
time. The game was close, and IMS
gave the opposing team by far the toughest test they'd face on their
way to the state championship. The drive home afterward was not
pleasant either, but passed uneventfully. I went to bed at 8:00 pm and
slept for thirteen hours.
Tuesday: I sat around the house doing laundry and getting ready for
my trip. I also called and then picked up David Rumsey, who would
accompany me to New Mexico. After a last-minute chat on AIM to clarify
any major points about getting to New Mexico, we went to sleep.
Wednesday: We left Wayland just after seven in the morning. We had
snow and rain until Kansas. There was lunch to be had at Wendy's near
Emporia and dinner at a Subway in Dalhart, Texas around sunset, where I
turned the driving over to David. He got us to Santa Rosa, New Mexico,
where I decided I wanted to drive again, until we got to Carrizozo,
from which David guided us to Las Cruces around 1:30 am MST.
Thursday: I made the acquaintance of Arthur at the campus dining
hall (New Mexico State University), whom I believe to be the most
helpful and engaging food service employee I have ever met. I watched
Syracuse defeat BYU as Jerry McNamara scored 43 points and hit nine
three-point shots. Wow. I think I also played frisbee with David on the
springy, dead-looking grass. We drove out to the mountains near Las
Cruces and to Mesilla, the antique southwestern town sort of in the
western part of Las Cruces. We ate at La Posta, some moderately famous
restaurant there, and had frozen custard afterwards. I think it was
that evening, during "storytime", that David reminded us that Vince
Coleman, in the 1985 postseason, was practicing on the field during a
rain delay and got caught rolled up in the tarp and was so badly
bruised that he couldn't play for the rest of the series. This is the
same man who threw a firecracker at fans in LA. He deserves a very
special place in Cooperstown.
Friday: After declining to attend a radio class at 8:30 am, I ate
brunch and we then journeyed to the southwest to see Pancho Villa State
Park and grill at Rock Hound State Park. The view from the grilling
site at Rock Hound was rather impressive. At Pancho Villa State Park we
saw a proto-tank used by the army in the early twentieth century, a
lot of cacti, the Mexican border, and a man with "meaningful" tattoos,
according to the park ranger. Because of him, we had to avoid the
idyllic spot near the cacti and eat at Rock Hound, which was pretty
impressive, though not the best grilling site we'd see on the trip
(that would be Saguaro National Forest near "the building", which can
be seen in the slide show).
Saturday: We drove down to El Paso and parked the car in order to
walk across the border to Ciudad Juarez. There were many beggars and
people (mostly kids) selling trinkets. We saw a museum, a sidewalk
dancer, many street vendors, a Methodist parade, and an heladeria. We
ate near a tourist-centered market, with ferocious service. We refused
all offers to purchase doodads until somebody came around after the
meal with some bubble gum. On the way back the border guards questioned
Brian on the medication in his pocket, possibly because of the
flip-flops he was wearing, though we can't confirm that. That was the
first of three times on the trip I'd have to declare my citizenship
(also on a Greyhound bus and near White Sands National Monument). After
leaving David at the bus station to return to Iowa and school, Brian
and I went back to Las Cruces to eat pizza and watch Bones.
Sunday: After confirming that we would not be going to Los Angeles
as hoped, we decided to first go to Las Vegas and Hoover Dam, after
which we'd hike at Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon and see the Painted
Desert and Petrified Forest. On the way there, after stopping at The
Thing in eastern Arizona, which wasn't very exciting, we made a detour
into Tucson to see Biosphere 2, which we didn't feel we could pass up
without remorse. Just north of Tucson in Oro Valley, and not yet at
Biosphere, the clutch went out on the Acura Vigor we were in. After a
call to AAA and 75 minutes, we were towed to the nearest place that
could look at the car (it was Sunday). They told us to wait until
Monday, so we walked down the highway looking for an affordable motel.
After 2.5 miles of walking in the stones and brush alongside the road
(no sidewalks or shoulder), and not having found anything below $85, we
stopped at a gas station to find a phone book. By way of the clerk
inside, we figured out that we should take the bus down to Miracle
Mile, where the cheap hotels were located. We stayed at the Sunland,
which had bars on the doors and didn't allow guests at night, but was
clean enough. (The phone was kind of odd, though; listen to it. I seem to have been unhappy with it according to my tone of voice.) We watched The Raven,
which starred Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, and was "suggested" by
Poe's poem. It was apparently too horrific for Great Britain at the
time of its release in the thirties. Our sensibilities were not
offended, however.
Monday: Brian called around and decided to get the car towed to
another shop in town. We checked in there, having walked another 2.5
miles from the motel, and then hit up an ice cream shop, a book store
(where I bought The Portable Voltaire and What Is Cinema? {which I'll need for Italian Neorealism, I just discovered} but didn't pick up A People's History of the United States or The Magic Lantern),
The India Oven for lunch, which was almost as good as Chapati, and then
took the bus to a cheap movie theater where we endured Cheaper by the Dozen,
which seemed to have come with a faulty last reel, exposing boom mics
and chopping off faces at the chin. It expressed heavy-handed
traditional sentiments such as: people from the country are nice,
people in the city are evil; you must choose family over career and
can't mix the two; people who don't have a lot of children are selfish;
and what not. That evening we found lodging with Tom & Cindy
Brenneman, who live in Tucson and who Brian knows from Iowa City. We
listened to jazz on NPR, a CD of This American Life, with stories about
a fiasco, Mr. Loh, David Sedaris' childhood, and other things. We also
talked to Tom about his work (border issues: what causes them, what
effects they have, what might be done to improve the situation) and
other things. He said that when Brian called him, he googled him and
got this very website, which I found amusing.
Tuesday: We were allowed to take the Brennemans' truck to the Tucson
Mountains and Saguaro National Forest, which provided a lot of good
scenery. After returning to their house, we planned to take the bus to
Hi Corbett Field to see the Rockies take on the Mariners, but we missed
the bus we wanted to take both times and ended up walking at least six
miles round trip. It was a very close game, with long lines for tickets
and concessions.
Wednesday: We started at the Hotel Congress, where we read the New
York Times, then ate at Del Taco. We decided not to go to the
University of Arizona because we'd had enough walking in the sun, so we
bussed to the Tucson Mall to see Master & Commander, which
both of us had seen, but we just had to fill the time. After that we
discovered the car wasn't ready, so we found a motel early (the
Brennemans had left town) and watched basketball, as well as Pimp My
Ride and a Behind the Music on Snoop Dogg. We dined on Blackjack Pizza
for the second time in Tucson, since they provided both dinner and
breakfast with a large and a medium pizza for a total of fifteen
dollars, including delivery and tip.
Thursday: The car was not ready, so we gathered up necessary
belongings and took the Tucson bus to the Greyhound station, where we
hopped on a bus at 1:40 pm that would get us to Las Cruces seven hours
later after having passed by the city at 6:30 but not stopping, which
meant we'd take another bus back north from El Paso. The guy across the
aisle from me was fascinated by a blimp which turned out to be a
helicopter, then turned to a Playboy Lingerie magazine to pass the
time. The bathroom smelled something awful. After arriving in Las
Cruces we paid a cabbie all we had in our pockets (a five-dollar bill
and a lot of change) to get us back to campus. We got a pretty good
discount due to his sympathy.
Friday: I started out at nine o'clock MST and had some nice driving
across New Mexico, including a fuel efficiency of over 40 MPG, which
was nice. From the Texas border on I battled storm clouds and high
winds, even a hail storm near Dalhart. After resting a short while in
southwestern Kansas, I made it to a $36 motel in Newton.
Saturday: I made it home at 4:30 pm CST and went to the Peking
Buffet in Iowa City for my brother's birthday with my family, where I
saw Matt Swanson. I also watched Red Dwarf later that evening.
Sunday: I went to church in the morning and drove to Northfield in
the late afternoon/early evening. I was assisted upon arrival by Max
and Anna. I unpacked everything, did some laundry, and removed the
carpet from my floor (it wasn't very nice carpet, and it was hard to
clean given the state of the Evans vacuums), rolling it under the bed
and sweeping the floor multiple times.
Monday: (technically post-Spring Break) I hit up Sociology class
where the professor showed up late because he'd forgotten what time 3A
classes start while on sabbatical, ripped textbook publishing companies
for their sales tactics, lambasted academics for falling into the trap
of lazily conforming to existing ideologies, and told us all how much
he hates to give out grades. Nader Saiedi is certainly one of the best
professors I've had, and I'm looking forward to this class. I then ate
lunch and went to Fine Groove records to pick up the new Iron &
Wine, which is great, and which includes the bonus CD. I bought books
(didn't have to get What Is Cinema?) while Brendon Etter played My
Morning Jacket, for which I thanked him, finished up the slide show,
went to math, and did reading, ate dinner, and watched a movie (see
update above).
I could probably go on even longer about my break if you wanted, but
that is a relatively detailed account. Hopefully this will mark a
return to consistent updates and not ones filled with mundane details
as above. I will say that I especially enjoyed Wire's Pink Flag, The Thermals' More Parts Per Million, and the Beatles Rubber Soul
on the trip, even as my front right speaker fizzled out. I need new
speakers but have no money; I suppose we'll have to wait and see what
happens.
Also, I was reminded today by Ivan that the Minneapolis/St. Paul
International Film Festival is nigh. You can see their schedule on the internet.
If there's something you really want to see, but don't have a car,
maybe you should try to get me to go to it. I'm thinking about at least
Dogville, Raja, The Return, Crimson Gold, and maybe The Tesseract, depending on what works out.
AND, I am so far only sure that I'll be attending My Morning Jacket
(w/ M Ward) at the Quest this term (May 20), though I'm also bullish on
Einstürzende Neubauten because that's midterm break. I really don't
know what my financial limitations are quite yet, so I don't want to
blow too much money on tickets I can't afford.
First of all, Sam Beam could sing a successful lullaby to an incurable insomniac.
Second of all, see below for the lengthy Spring Break update.
Third of all, I think I'll have to add Charlie Kaufman to my list of
must-see filmmakers (or writers), although such a concept may be proven
foolish by the latest Kevin Smith and Coen Brothers projects (Jersey Girl and The Ladykillers, respectively), if the reviews are anything to go by. So far, though, the three Kaufman films I've seen, first Being John Malkovich, then Adaptation, and tonight Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind have all wowed me.
Before going any further, I might want to say something about
suspension of disbelief, which was discussed this evening. It is
easier, of course, to suspend disbelief watching something set in the
year 50,000,000,000 or in "another dimension" or something, but it's
just as vital for films set in 2004, or whatever year it might be.
Unless it's "hard" science-fiction, in which the author or filmmaker
clearly attempts to concoct a believable speculative scenario, in my
opinion it is almost never advantageous to pick apart the science of a
book or a film, because at best your search for error will be
fruitless, and at worst you will devalue what might otherwise have been
a good entertainment experience. The social impact of the science or
whatever development the film or book features is what should really be
picked apart, because that should really be the focus of any
speculative fiction. In that area, I think Eternal Sunshine
succeeds: the science of memory tampering is not examined more closely
than to show its unsettling side, and the social impact (on Carrey and
Winslet) is powerfully presented.
I found a lack of chemistry between the two leads, but for this
movie it seemed to work; their relationship had flaws, but they made it
work anyway, for reasons that may be invisible to anyone not a member
of the couple, which I thought seemed very realistic. I loved the way
that Michael Gondry used the concept and the visual special effects not
as eye candy or a ploy to draw the viewer in, but to heighten the
emotional impact of losing a loved one, in any sense of the word. I'd
probably have become annoyed with the constant surrealistic distortions
of the action onscreen were it not for the fact that it so perfectly
matched the emotional state of the protagonist to whom everything was
happening. That, more or less, is probably something Hollywood could do
a lot more of: use whiz-bang effects, futuristic settings, and massive
budgets not for their own sake, but in ways that tie in directly to the
main focus of the story. Admittedly, period pieces and blockbusters
occasionally make sense, but without focusing on the story, it's near
impossible to make a good movie (book, play, etc).
Note: I was thinking of what a good idea it would be for some rich
person or group of rich people to post a large sum of money for bands
to make an album on $10,000 or a movie on $100,000 or something with
strict spending guidelines to see what artists who usually spend their
time wasting money could do if forced back to basics, which I think
could be quite impressive and refreshing. The reward would have to be
substantial to get the biggest and brightest involved, but it could be
exciting.
iTunes song #8000: The Stills "Gender Bombs"
So, Tuesday evening I accompanied Jack McGrath, among others, to a
Sacred Harp singing in Minneapolis. It was, delightfully enough, just
what I'd hoped it to be: people sitting around singing songs in rapid
succession as raucously as they are able. It's essentially an ideal
sort of thing for me since I like to sing, but mostly enjoy reading and
learning rather than endlessly practicing to perfect a piece. Though
practice can yield good results, I much prefer singing hymns in church,
or in chapel in high school which was even better. The only problem
there is that we don't always sing hymns in church, which kind of
annoys me, but I don't really have any control over that. Hopefully I
can go again this term, it will probably depend on how much work I have
to do and when.
Sacred Harp and Shape Note website
My list of rock shows for this term is subjectively exhaustive at this point.
From the Guardian article:
It is not a remarkable note except for one thing. The
typeface Tony used to print it is exactly the same typeface Kubrick
used for the posters and title sequences of Eyes Wide Shut and 2001.
"It's Futura Extra Bold," explains Tony. "It was Stanley's favourite
typeface. It's sans serif. He liked Helvetica and Univers, too. Clean
and elegant."
"Is this the kind of thing you and Kubrick used to discuss?" I ask.
"God, yes," says Tony. "Sometimes late into the night. I was always
trying to persuade him to turn away from them. But he was wedded to his
sans serifs."
Jesus for sale!
Tonight marked the first of many screenings for Italian Neorealism with Rome, Open City. It featured members of the Italian resistance under the German occupation of Rome during World War II.
I must say that I was more enamored with the story of the film
(using scraps of film found anywhere, faulty electrical power,
realistic depiction of the Italian resistance) before learning that
Roberto Rosselini had made a number of Fascist-approved films during
the occupation himself. Certainly he had to make a living, and he
doesn't seem to have gone head over heels for the Fascist cause, but it
does detract a little from the heroic nature of the picture.
Saturday night I'll be attending Dogville at the Oak Street Cinema at 7:30 pm. If I get ambitious, I might go see Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
at the Riverview beforehand at 4:30, partly because it looks
interesting, partly because I'd like to see a lot of movies at the
Festival, and partly because the Riverview Theater is enormous and thus
kind of a fun place to see a movie. I also might get a pass for $50
which would be good for 10 films, but I might not because I'm not sure
I'll see that many (total, including guests).