Name dropping. Does it work if it's in the future?

I grew up with this guy, so I'm pretty biased...the wrong way.  You know how it works--you're harder on your family than almost anyone else.  And yet I still think he did a great cover of a song I'm quite fond of (I like Cohen's version, but I think Rufus Wainwright's is my favorite).



m.

Light, literally and metaphorically. And lots of puns.

About three months ago, the internet blew up.

Okay, so that's not quite true.  I'm still on it.  Case in point.
What I mean when I say "the internet blew up" is really "my friends made a really, really big deal about the soundtrack to a new movie coming out."
Movie? 

Music?  

 

Now, I'm all for soundtracks that fit the movie.  I don't want to watch anything of Austen's with a punk-rock score, and, let's be honest, an organ just doesn't fit with anything in Iron Man.
However, we're talking about a band called Daft Punk.  I like Simon & Garfunkel.  The Beatles.  Butch Walker.  Rufus Wainwright. 
So when all of my friends (it seemed) went completely mad for this new soundtrack, practically foaming at the mouth, I didn't really pay attention.  Well, until the third time or so I heard about it, and then it just became irritating.

I was wrong.
So very wrong.




Overall, I didn't much care for Tron.  I haven't seen the original, so there were some things that didn't make any sense (starting with the title).  And there were some other things, too.  From my understanding, everything in the Grid is a Program (except for the Users--which, incidentally, doesn't make Clu's genocide a genocide.  A Program, at least the way I think about it, isn't a sentient being).
A Program is code.  Code is binary--a series of ones and zeros.  Near the end of the movie, one of the Programs falls into a sea, and (from my understanding--again, not having seen the original) drowns.
One: how is it binary is affected by water?  And two: if it is, why have a sea?
I suppose most of my complaints have to do with the fact that everything in the Grid is binary.  That kind of ruins emotional attachment.  I'm not one to hug my computer.

Anyway.  The movie earned a resounding "meh" from me, but I feel in love with the music.  I don't like electronic sounding music, but Daft Punk and their 85-piece orchestra was sheer brilliance.
It's very consistent in basic form, but then it gets layered, almost like building blocks.  However, they also manage to keep it fairly minimalistic, in keeping with the visual simplicity of the movie.  In addition, the music fits into the film nearly seamlessly--one of the best I've seen/heard, if not the best.
It stands well on its own as well (listen here, and start with track four to hear what they've done with the original).

Final score:
The movie barely squeaked by in earning its $9.25.  I would gladly pay that for the soundtrack, though, and may do just that.
But the extra $3.00 for 3D is so very, very painfully not worth it.  [Did you hear that, Disney?  STOP THE 3D INSANITY!]

m.

And, just for the record, Cillian Murphy appears in one scene in the movie and is uncredited (according to IMDB).  I caught it, and knew who he was.

Books that are not Harry Potter.

I had lots of ideas for today.

And then they vanished into the mist with this video.

I love the Green brothers. They can usually keep me close to death with laughter, and Hank's newest song is no exception. It's even better than "Ranavalona" (which I enjoy primarily because of her name).

m.

Paper Moons

Someone please tell me that this isn't the most involved (with the possible exception of OK GO) music video just about ever.

Paper R2D2!

m.

PLUS

Several weeks ago, I talked a substantial bit about Butch Walker.

Several weeks ago, I did not have access to youtube.

This has changed, so here they are:

"The Weight of Her"

"Pretty Melody"

"Ships in a Bottle"

And, of course, "You Belong With Me" (the song starts just at the three minute mark)

m.

New

You know what I love?

Set schedules.

Like when a professor tells you a class is going to be at this time, in this classroom, and then--egads!--it is.

However, seeing as though I can't find said set schedule online, I'll have to find something else to share today.

Glee.

Yes, I am one of those people. Come on, don't you just want to break out into song at inopportune/perfect moments in your life.

That's okay. I know you want to, you just don't want to admit it.

Glee is one of the two tv shows that I specifically take time out of my life to watch (the other is Big Bang Theory).

"Grilled Cheesus" was the title of last night's episode (last night for me, at least. I have to watch them the day after they come out, being in Turkey and all), which caused me to panic a bit. I'm a Christian, and while I will readily admit that God works in strange ways sometimes (like: "Really? Really? I trust You, God, but I don't think that would even fly on a soap opera"), I don't think He spends too much time trying to talk to us through sandwiches.

Which is more or less exactly what Emma said on the show.

All in all, I thought they handled it extremely well. I liked that they represented both sides (and subsets) of the argument, and that they didn't make any of the opinions just...stupid. I've seen that before, and it always makes me mad, even if they're against God. People who don't believe in Him aren't stupid, for the most part, and they have better arguments than "he wouldn't have let my cat die when I was 5."

Grow up, people who write dialogue like that. You shouldn't be writing theological arguments when you can't even write.

Okay. Done grandstanding.

We return you to your originally scheduled program, sans dancing.

What I love so much about the show is how they never cut anybody any slack. Every character has their good and bad parts.

Hey! That's just like real life!

There are plenty of parts that are over the top, but when you get rid of some of it, there are plenty of bits that sound like sound bites from a high schooler's life.

The other thing I really love about it is how they know that they're over the top, and they have fun with it. They don't try to delude themselves into thinking that it's a highbrow drama with lots of morals and life lessons.

For pete's sake, they did a Lady Gaga episode. I hold it's impossible to take yourself completely seriously when you're dressed in giant bubbles, or have Beanie Babies stapled to your jumper.

They also had an episode directed by Joss Whedon (who is king of American scifi). With Neil Patrick Harris. It's about time the guy got some props for his voice.

m.

And: Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, did the most fantastic rendition of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." I never thought that song could be done in ballad form.

Boy, was I wrong.

"Wheels" image courtesy of http://nymag.com

Lady Gaga episode still courtesy of http://bolahenksokak.blogspot.com/

Neil Patrick Harris & Matthew Morrison's rendition of "Dream On" poster-worthy image courtesy of http://www.nydailynews.com/

Final image courtesy of http://mjsbigblog.com/

Introducing...

One of my two obsessions.

Meet Butch Walker.

You probably haven't heard of him, which is perfectly all right. (Unless you read Rolling Stone in 2005, when they named him best producer of the year.)

At least until now.

Now I'm here to tell you how bloody wonderful this musician is.

He's also a producer. You've probably heard of some of the artists...Pink, Bowling for Soup, Weezer, The Academy Is....

But as good as they are, they cannot touch Mr. Walker.

(This is where I would put in a link to youtube, but Turkey blocks it. You won't regret it, though, in the least.)

The man can do just about anything, but, more impressively, his lyrics are on par with Paul Simon and Bob Dylan (and, unlike Dylan, you can actually understand what he's saying).

What makes his lyrics so poetic is that there's so damn real. A number of his songs are about the small things in life, usually pertaining to relationships, usually broken ones. But they're all true. A thing doesn't have to be real to be true.

He's 40 (or 41...or 42), so the end of a relationship isn't the end of his world. That's not to say there isn't any emotion in it, but I have yet to hear a "you-broke-up-with-me-I'm-going-to-go-kill-myself" song. And I don't think he's going to write one (thank goodness).

Within all of his songs, there's something small and very specific he focuses on, which makes them much more potent than a "sad" or "happy" song. For instance:

"Here comes the last time I'll kiss you/The first night sleeping alone"

("Here Comes The...")

"You can't trust a man from a species who captures things just to let them go. [....] There's never a pill strong enough to make me feel the way all your fingers could."

("Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car, Thought of You")

"As I drove into a city painted on the desert/With everything ten miles high/Hard to believe that nobody will see/What I see through my bloodshot eyes./Now I don't mean to sound so young and naive/But think we've found something good/And now I can feel me leaving who I used to be/As we're driving into Hollywood."

("So At Last")

Or his advice to his son in "Be Good Until Then": "Always wash your hands when you wanna eat/Always keep 'em dirty enough to see where you've been."

And if that's not enough to convince you, he did a cover of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me."

Don't judge.

It's better than the original, and he does it with a bloody mandolin.

Yes, you read that right.

I like reading interviews with my favorite people (like Nathan Fillion. Nathan Fillion is funny. He should have his own show. Wait...)

Butch Walker is no exception. I read what he has to say, about being an artist, or a producer, and I think, "that's the kind of person I want to get to know." He's honest. He's not afraid to be honest, or to be himself, and yet at the same time, he's not afraid to reinvent himself.

Sure, there are parts of his personality that are less than perfect (the other common thing to cross my mind when reading/listening is "what an ass"), but that seems to be the case with most of humanity.

I thinks he sums himself up the best, though, so I'll let him do that.

"I like the fact that I'm still an artist and I'm not crushed by frustration. I don't have to agree with those who are overcompensating with their longwinded [nature], talking about how much money they make or about how much shit they have. No matter what, there are plenty of people that will never know that I'm an artist and will never know that I [make] records, and that's fine. 'cause you know what? I have a great life doing this. I'm not bothered by people, I got great fans, and as long as I get to keep being grateful for that, it's my proudest accomplishment. As far as biggest regret goes--every time I'm ever asked that question, I completely draw a blank. I never go 'Oh god I regret this' or 'Oh god I regret that.' I never remember--whenever I'm in an interview--what I regret."

m.

First image courtesy of http://butchwalker.com

Second image courtesy of Veronica Zelina

Third and fourth and fifth images courtesy of Lucia Holm

Lyrics courtesy of and copyrighted by Butch Walker

Interview conduced by Evan Sawdey; http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/116257-the-gospel-according-to-butch-part-3-the-artist/

Plus, the "a thing need not be real to be true" is homage to my other obsession, Neil Gaiman. But more about him later, I'm sure.