I think its the combination of Michel Gondry and the Conchords that makes this so amazing. But even if you just heard the song and never saw the video, its pretty damn catchy. How did they do that?
Monday, December 13, 2010
Friday, April 25, 2008
Black as midnight on a moonless night
I've been sick the past couple of days, which kind of saps my energy every time, and taxes my capacity for diagnosing the brilliance around me.
But every day I've wanted to write about David Lynch. Who I adore for some many reasons. I may have to spend a week on his work alone.
My husband and I just recently bought the David Lynch organic coffee. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I figure a man who is so obsessed with it is going to make a damn good brew himself. And it is quite good. Interested? You can find it here.
But every day I've wanted to write about David Lynch. Who I adore for some many reasons. I may have to spend a week on his work alone.
My husband and I just recently bought the David Lynch organic coffee. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I figure a man who is so obsessed with it is going to make a damn good brew himself. And it is quite good. Interested? You can find it here.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
It starts around 3:38. The deadly cobras are whispering to each other "... when the bungalow is empty, we will again be King and Queen of the Garden..." Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the brave mongoose will have to stop them.
I saw this when I was a kid and the image of that cobra wrapping himself around the basket and hiding in the bathroom has stayed in my brain for, oh I don't know, probably the last 20 years. I believe the story takes place in India. The bungalow, with its outdoor garden, gazebo and tiled floor was my first introduction to life in hot climates. The exotic vases, the latticework, the sitar in the soundtrack, all of it has stuck in my mind after all of these years. I love the story by Rudyard Kipling, the animation by Chuck Jones, and the fact that someone thought this would be a good cartoon. And the soundtrack, full of ominous beeps, tones and echoes, is both fitting and unexpected. But I think the voiceover, by Orson Welles, is the coup de grace that puts Rikki-Tikki-Tavi on my list of brilliant works.
I saw this when I was a kid and the image of that cobra wrapping himself around the basket and hiding in the bathroom has stayed in my brain for, oh I don't know, probably the last 20 years. I believe the story takes place in India. The bungalow, with its outdoor garden, gazebo and tiled floor was my first introduction to life in hot climates. The exotic vases, the latticework, the sitar in the soundtrack, all of it has stuck in my mind after all of these years. I love the story by Rudyard Kipling, the animation by Chuck Jones, and the fact that someone thought this would be a good cartoon. And the soundtrack, full of ominous beeps, tones and echoes, is both fitting and unexpected. But I think the voiceover, by Orson Welles, is the coup de grace that puts Rikki-Tikki-Tavi on my list of brilliant works.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Okay, I know I'm in the minority on this one. I actually liked Riley, and Faith, and I count Season 5 as one of my favorite seasons of Buffy, mainly becuase I thought Buffy's death scene was amazing and terrifying in ways I am still processing today. Like every time I see a construction crane lurking over the skyline I think of Joel Grey.
So...
But the folks at Pajiba do an awesome job dissecting Season 2 and making the case for why this one is the best. And while I loved Season 3 too, I have to admit that as they mentioned each scene, I was able to recollect it crystal-clearly. That is saying something for a show that hasn't been on for 10 years.
By the way, WHY is it that every Buffy clip on YouTube is a fan video set to some crappy music? They point that out in the article, but I noticed it too when I was looking for a clip of Buffy jumping off the crane and into her death in the Season 5 finale. I appreciate the showcased talents of would-be music video editors as much as anyone. But can't someone just post the scenes as they are?
Friday, April 18, 2008
Mad Men: The Carousel
"Mad Men" is one of my favorite shows of this past year. I love the period-specific details, from the clothes to the furniture. I also love the writing. Each character seems fully realized, full of secrets and complexity. And the settings and dialog perfectly demonstrate the larger theme of how America had been changed by three generations of war.
At the center of the series is Don Draper, the enigmatic creative director at Sterling-Cooper, who is both wonderful and horrid, a man who feels deeply, but hurts everyone around him. This clip, from the first season's last episode, shows him doing what he does best: spinning words into gold.
The level of emotion that is slowly and subtly reached in this scene is sublime. So many elements have come together by this, the end of the season, to make his simple pitch pack the emotional punch that it does. It shows all that Don has and all that he has lost in a lovely little tale of a happy family. And indeed it reflects the series' overarching themes: is family enough? How do you witness cruelty and horror and then function in the world? How much of yourself is consciously created and how much is made against your will?
At the center of the series is Don Draper, the enigmatic creative director at Sterling-Cooper, who is both wonderful and horrid, a man who feels deeply, but hurts everyone around him. This clip, from the first season's last episode, shows him doing what he does best: spinning words into gold.
The level of emotion that is slowly and subtly reached in this scene is sublime. So many elements have come together by this, the end of the season, to make his simple pitch pack the emotional punch that it does. It shows all that Don has and all that he has lost in a lovely little tale of a happy family. And indeed it reflects the series' overarching themes: is family enough? How do you witness cruelty and horror and then function in the world? How much of yourself is consciously created and how much is made against your will?
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
David Bowie's Rock and Roll Suicide
This is my favorite David Bowie song so imagine my delight when I found this video. David Bowie and... puppets. Wonderful!
My husband and I have a theory that the best songs are often ones by legendary artists that are not typically played incessantly. Like the best Beatles songs are "Norwegian Wood" and "Here, There and Everywhere," not "Revolution" or "Hey Jude" mainly because they're less common and therefore more precious. This is absolutely true for David Bowie. When I hear "Fame" on the radio, I race to turn the station. "Changes" is similarly boring, and don't even get me started on his 1980's ouevre. But "Rock and Roll Suicide" is amazing. From the opening guitar riff to the buildup in the middle to (you're not alone... give me your hands...) to the ending chorus of "Wonderfuls," this is Bowie at his best.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story
Why is it that current movies have such a hard time getting the light comedy right? Have they seen The Philadelphia Story? This is a movie about sex and drinking and marriage and love that only gets better with every viewing. It's a movie about talking where, even amidst the talents of Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the dialogue is the star. And each of the actors inhabit their roles so naturally that even when the words dance ahead of them they manage to catch up and make the people and situations feel both real and brilliantly staged. For the viewer, it’s a little like watching a ballet. You know that every movement and every note is choreographed, yet it feels naturally beautiful. You just appreciate the time and effort it must have taken to arrange all of the elements into one place.
The speech that starts around 4:48 in the clip above was a wild risk. It’s so patently absurd and unnatural that a young man in the middle of a drunken revelry would never be able to pull it off. I even saw an interview where Jimmy Stewart said he struggled with how to act that part of the script. And yet, it works because it is the perfect speech at the right time, and both characters walk away feeling a little different about themselves and their places in the world.
Mike Connor (Jimmy Stewart) is a would-be novelist who barely has a dime to his name and is slumming at Spy magazine. The fact that he's able to improv such phrases as "...there's fires banked within you, Tracy... hearth fires.. and, and ... holocausts..." is a perfect demonstration of his inner artist released. He is a writer after all.
Tracy (Katherine Hepburn), the lifelong heiress, is moved by his words, because what Mike is saying is the exact opposite of the conversation she previously had with her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) in which he accuses her of being a remote, untouchable goddess.
The whole reckless conversation has an edge of daring to it that comes from the fact that they’ve been drinking. And the drinking is the perfect device for both of these characters to really talk and admit their attraction to each other, even if they both know they won’t fall in love. Even if they both know that Tracy’s already in love, although she’s too stubborn to admit it. Brilliant.
The speech that starts around 4:48 in the clip above was a wild risk. It’s so patently absurd and unnatural that a young man in the middle of a drunken revelry would never be able to pull it off. I even saw an interview where Jimmy Stewart said he struggled with how to act that part of the script. And yet, it works because it is the perfect speech at the right time, and both characters walk away feeling a little different about themselves and their places in the world.
Mike Connor (Jimmy Stewart) is a would-be novelist who barely has a dime to his name and is slumming at Spy magazine. The fact that he's able to improv such phrases as "...there's fires banked within you, Tracy... hearth fires.. and, and ... holocausts..." is a perfect demonstration of his inner artist released. He is a writer after all.
Tracy (Katherine Hepburn), the lifelong heiress, is moved by his words, because what Mike is saying is the exact opposite of the conversation she previously had with her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) in which he accuses her of being a remote, untouchable goddess.
The whole reckless conversation has an edge of daring to it that comes from the fact that they’ve been drinking. And the drinking is the perfect device for both of these characters to really talk and admit their attraction to each other, even if they both know they won’t fall in love. Even if they both know that Tracy’s already in love, although she’s too stubborn to admit it. Brilliant.
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