I don't see "movies," I see "films" uuugggggggghhh

So, I was reading a pair of articles in the Inquirer today about this year's summer movie season, and it looks like some of the surefire hits are Shrek the Third, Spiderman 3, another Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Ocean's Thirteen, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and, uh...

JESUS CHRIST CAN'T ANYBODY MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T SEEN A MILLION TIMES ALREADY?

I know this is hardly a new complaint, but CHRIST. Let's keep the list going: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Evan Almighty, Life Free or Die Hard, Hairspray, The Simpsons Movie, The Bourne Ultamatum, Rush Hour 3, 28 Weeks Later, Hostel 2, Transformers.

See, this is why I never go to movies anymore. When tickets are $10+, you feel like you're taking a risk paying that much to see an unknown quantity. So what we end up with is movie after movie of crap that we've all seen before. Safe, predictable, boring, crap. This is the only kind of stuff that people will promote and spend money on anymore, and subsequently, this is the only kind stuff that people will go see.

I'm sure that a handful of those are probably perfectly pleasant and not terrible, and I'm sure that I'll eventually end up seeing a handful of them (I don't think I have any choice when it comes to The Simpsons). But it's still disappointing how little risk people are willing to take when it comes to making and promoting movies on a large scale.

Basically if you read that list, and realize that the majority of Americans won't see a movie this summer that isn't on that list, that's why I'm a movie snob.

Bjork is on SNL

I haven't really made it a point to watch Saturday Night Live since... well, I don't know if I ever did. I mean, I know there were times when I used to get excited when some of my favorite artists would appear on SNL, but I can't remember of them now. Beck, I guess? Oh, and Elliott Smith. Those were both late 90s probably (I remember Beck playing "Nobody's Fault But My Own" and Elliott playing "Miss Misery").

Anyway, SNL is not appointment television for me because I am an adult, and I like to be doing things on Saturday nights that don't involve watching TV. So what do I do when arguably my favorite artist ever (at the least, top 5, like it matters) is going to be on SNL performing a song I probably haven't heard yet? Also, live Bjork performances don't exactly come a dime a dozen these days.

Luckily, the year is 2007, and there is a very simple solution: YouTube! I wait until Monday, I see her performance when I want, where I want, and I don't have to tolerate Scarlett Johansson mumbling her way through half a dozen mediocre sketches featuring some guys I've never seen before.

Hooray for The Internet.

zen

Just watch this guy's face the whole time. If you ask me, this is a great example of the sort of "brilliant stupidity" that the internet offers in spades.

Of Montreal, of Athens, GA

I've been kind of half-heartedly embracing Of Montreal for several years now. I like a lot of things about them, but I also dislike enough things that I always end up checking out their new albums when they come out but if somebody asks me if I'm a big fan, I say, "eh, not really." Anyway, they were on Conan O'Brien's show last night. It's pretty cool for them I guess. Check out the video:






of Montreal - Heimdalsgate like a Promethean Curse (live) on Vimeo

Like I said, it's cool for them that they get to be on national TV and whatnot. But since I'm a wet blanket and everything, I want to point out some things that I don't really like.

For starters, Kevin Barnes keeps drifting closer and closer to glam rock. His Bowie-ness is increasing, if not in the music than definitely in appearance.

Second, it's kind of reinforcing the image that Of Montreal is actually "The Kevin Barnes Show." I know that's the case anyway, but I'm starting to get uncomfortable with it. As if the costume changes weren't enough to draw all the attention to Barnes, I would swear he actually told the rest of the band to remain perfectly still. I've seen them live (and you may recall I was not entirely satisfied with that either), they actually do move. They looked like a band when I saw them. They look like Kevin Barnes and a backing band here. His vocals are even way up in the mix compared to the studio recording.

And back to those costume changes: does anybody else find them unnecessary and distracting? The song they're playing is actually a pretty good one, but I'd bet that a lot of people hearing them for the first time had no idea, because they were wondering why the dude with the makeup is suddenly wearing a huge lobster claw. It's kinda cool to try to replicate a music video onstage, but anybody who hasn't seen it (which is most people) was probably confused by it. Also, it's risky to be known exclusively for a music video, but that's for a post about Ok Go.

Now, I am aware that lots of people will like the performance for all of the exact reasons I didn't. So you know, don't pounce on me for being too negative. Or go ahead, I don't care.

Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007

It would appear that Kurt Vonnegut died yesterday.

I have very fond memories of Kurt Vonnegut as probably the first author I got really into. His books were easy to read, easy to digest, often very funny, and always interesting. The autobiographical nature of a lot of his work coupled with the dozens of running in-jokes made you feel like part of a club by the time you got through your third book of his (which would probably be about two weeks after you started the first).

I'd held out hope for awhile that he would live to publish another novel. I guess that's not going to be the case. Maybe I'll revisit some of his stuff.

No further eulogizing here, the article linked does a better job of that.

'Tis a shame, sort of. (I have a hard time feeling too upset when somebody dies at 84.)

damn

Here's me looking at the concert listings on Ticketmaster's website for the Theatre of Living Arts:

"All right. Air is playing at the TLA."

Here's me three seconds later, when I saw the ticket price:

"WHO THE *expletive* DO THESE *expletive* THINK THEY ARE CHARGING 40 *expletive* DOLLARS? WHAT ARE THEY *expletive* BILLY JOEL ALL OF A SUDDEN?"

Seriously. Air tickets are $40. That's a pretty steep price for a band that's probably best known in the United States as the guys Zero 7 have been ripping off all these years (low blow, I know, but I still like Zero 7).

Boy that grinds my gears. And here's why: Air is not a band with a rich fan base. Who do you think the average Air fan is? Roughly college-aged, moneyless dopes like me. Todd Rundgren is playing there, and his tickets are only $35, and he's aiming for the baby-boomer market that will actually pay the big bucks to see Todd Rundgren 30 years past his prime.

I probably didn't need to explain that, but whatever.

huh?

Have you heard about this movie The Reaping? I don't know what it's about. I don't really care. I just know that it's one typo away from some very unfortunate ads.

baseball baseball baseball

Around this time of the year, I usually write up a thing on the start of the baseball season, offering reasons to worry about my beloved Phillies if there's too much optimism or offering hope if there's too much pessimism. This year there's a strange mixture of those two things, so I'll just say this:

Today is Sunday. The next time there will be a Sunday without a Phillies game will be October 7, at the earliest. That's a happy thought, whether they have 90 wins or 90 losses by October.