Wednesday, January 26, 2005

brief Oscar/Razzies

Lists are out. I'm way behind.

Robbed: Team America (songs and Best Animated), The Corporation (Best Documentary), House of Flying Daggers (while it rightfully got a Cinematography nom, the sound design was amazing.). Don't count on Super Size Me or Tupac: Resurrection winning Best Documentary. It'll either be Born into Brothels or Twist of Faith.



And the razzie nominations are out. They're just not fun any more. They take the same potshots at the same people year after year...BO-ring.
Movie Log

#3: I, Robot (disc)


This was a pleasant surprise, despite a little too much Willsmith(TM) and Bridget Moynahan's best efforts to derail everything. It ended up more intelligent than expected, and the visions of future Chicago were interesting. When the revolution comes, this may be the only thing keeping Akiva Goldsman off the wall.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Adios, pimento!

A pimento is supposed to be a variety of sweet red pepper, but I have a feeling the little wad of red stuff inside a green olive is far removed from what it's supposed to be. My theory is that pimentos as we know them are made from the same space-age polymer as maraschino cherries, and the only difference is whether they're steeped in brine or syrup.



Trader Joe's, the fancy-shmancy grocery, has two better ideas: Big, tasty green olives stufffed with either jalapenos or garlic cloves. Both varieties are excellent.
Quiz answers

Four remaning; not bad. I'm done with this particular exercise, though. What's left:



1. "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore," Prince - While this was a B-side, Alicia Keys covered it and released it as a single.

6. "Burn Hollywood Burn" Public Enemy

12. "Kiko and the Lavender Moon," Los Lobos

17. "Forever In My Life" - Prince

...and #16, "Fujiyama Mama" is by Wanda Jackson.

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Many unguessed lyrics below. This was a busy weekend for many of whom I assumed were regular readers, so I'll wait until the weekend to complain bitterly about low participation and start pulling links from the sidebar post answers. I think the only obscure songs are 2, 16, and 18. Okay, 20, too. The others are fairly well known. 10 and 11 were featured in major ad campaigns; 11 in particular seemed ubiquitous during the holiday season.
Movie Log

#2: I Have Found It (Kandukondain Kandukondain) (disc)


Alert readers will remember I was touting the fabulosity of Aishwarya Rai two and-a-half years ago, long before 60 Minutes jumped on the bandwagon. I don't know if she's the world's most beautiful woman, as she's being touted, but she's up there. Anyway, the movie is Sense and Sensibilty given the Bollywood treatment (or more accurately, Tollywood, as the film's in Tamil). I enjoyed it more than the Emma Thompson version, as the cultural transplant meant the daughters were still in a bind, but weren't simpering and useless. Good warmup for Aish's next Austen remake, Bride and Prejudice. The DVD had a caption problem, though: the subtitles were running 10-15 second later than the dialogue. It was sort of like The Dueling Cavalier.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

B-Fest Schedule!

It's up! It looks craptastic! I have seen exactly two of the features (figure it out yourself; a hint is that one of them is shown every year).



I see that they've done away with wee-morning-hour tales of adult-oriented ribaldry (Flesh Gordon, the softcore Alice in Wonderland, and the Happy Hooker have made appearances in recent years), instead filling that slot with violence. Not that I demand the smut, but it's preferable to rape-revenge movies.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Answers & Quiz 2



okay, the ungotten ones have been sitting for a while now, so here are the answers.

3. Magnetic Fields "The Way You Say Goodnight"

4. 999, "Homicide"

7, The Cramps, "Human Fly"

8, The Coasters, "That is Rock & Roll"

9, The Sundays, "My Finest Hour"

12, James Brown, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine"

13, Fountains of Wayne, "A Fine Day for a Parade"

20, Blondie, "X Offender"



Clearly, a straight "shuffle" brings up too many obscurities. Whatever-- Dwight got a Ken Nordine track right over on Joe's quiz, so James Brown's "Sex Machine" should be gettable, yes?





And here's another one. let's see...to my knowledge, none are covers, but in the case of #1, there is a cover version which is probably better known. The missus may want to recuse herself here, since I'm sure she's good for at least 16.



1. I keep your picture beside my bed, and I still remember the things you said.

2. They called me the wild rose, but my name was Eliza Day. Why they call me it, I do not know. ("Where the Wild Roses Grow", Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue - Cinnamon)

3. I got a .38 Special CD collection, some Bactine to prevent infection. ("Red Dragon Tattoo," Fountains of Wayne - JQ)

4. Let's go make a picture on the island of Stromboli. ("Ingrid Bergman," Billy Bragg & Wilco - Victoria)

5 And we played the first thing that came to our heads, it just so happened to be the best song in the world. ("Tribute," Tenacious D - Flax got it before Ellen)

6 Yeah I'll check out a movie, but it'll take a black one to move me.

7 I come old friend from hell tonight across the rotting sea, not the nails of the cross nor the blood of Christ can bring you help this eve. ("Turkish Song of the Damned," The Pogues- Kris)

8 I hope I don't see his name in the paper, in the obituary, 'cos that would mean he's dead. ("The Cheat Is Not Dead", Strong Bad -- Flax)

9 Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go. They're ready to go now. ("Sheena is a Punk Rocker", The Ramones - Kirsti)

10 I only get sleepless nights/Alone here in my half-empty bed/For you things seem to turn out right/I wish they'd only happen to me instead . ("What Do I Get?, the Buzzcocks - Kris)

11 Love can cure your problems, you're so lucky I'm around. (Pete Townshend, Let My Love Open the Door - -Craig)

12 And then he flies up to the wall/Stands on one foot doesn’t even fall.

13 Look at you with your mouth waterin'. Look at you with your mind spinnin'. ("Girl U Want, Devo - Kirsti)

14 Charles Surratt introduces his own composition, "On Calvary For Me". ("Voice of Harold," R.E.M. - Victoria)

15 Don't know about you, but I am un chien andalusia. ("Debaser", The Pixies - John)

16 I drink a quart of sake, smoke dynamite, I chase it with tobacky, and then shoot out the light. (Fujiyama Mama, artist missed - Kirsti)

17 There comes a time in every man's life when he gets tired of foolin' around.

18 See Dick. See Jane. See how they both complain. See how they go round and round over nothing at all. (The Refreshments, Suckerpunch - Joe)

19 Why can't she see she's lovely to me, but I like to stay in and watch TV on my own every now and then? ("My Girl," Madness -- Kirsti)

20 Never used to cry 'cos I was all alone, me myself and I was all I've ever known. ("Lucky Number", Lene Lovich -- Kirsti)

Sunday, January 9, 2005

Lyric quiz

Hm. This tells me I need to throw more music in the ol' iTunes. Nearly half of these come from a number of box sets. None are covers as far as I know. One is a song from a popular website.

ETA: Looks like 16 hours of roadtripping via iPod paid off for a certain wife of mine.



1. Exploding international, the scenes, the sounds, and famously the feeling that you can't squeeze 'round. (New Pornographers, "All For Swinging Your Around" - Kirsti)

2. "I'm glad we're together, miss you a lot. Love, Kitten." Oh yeah oh yeah, Kitten. Oh yeah oh yeah. (Replacements, "Lovelines" - Kirsti)



3. So far away and so alone, how could I ever take you home.

4. You'd better believe it, that's the truth of it. Take it or leave it, resign to it

5. Love's dreaming, love's sleeping, and when it wakes again who know the company it's keeping (Kirsty MacColl, "Angel" - Kirsti)



6. I make lots of money, I make more money then you, I drive around in my limo, that's what I was born to do (Electric Six, "Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)" - Kirsti)



7. I got 96 tears and 96 eyes

8. Did you ever hear a tenor sax swingin' like a rusty axe?

9. And I keep hoping you are the same as me, and I’ll send you letters and come to your house for tea

10. PT Barnum said it so long ago, there's one born every minute don't you know (Killer Klowns from Outer Space - Chris got the title but not the artist)

11. 128 when it's dark outside, I'm in love with Massachusetts, I'm in love with the radio on. (Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, "Roadrunner" - Ted Stratton)

12. The way I like it is the way it is. I got mine, he got his.

13. Mrs. Carver says she's sorry, she knows enough to worry, but what does she know about crime?

14. Sure I'm CFK, but you gotta love me. The cost, no man can say, but you gotta love me. (White Stripes, ""The Union Forever" - John)

15. Down our street there lives a spy. Says he works for MI5. (Toy Dolls, "James Bond Lives Down Our Street" - Kirsti)



16. I could use a dollar, I could use a couple bucks. I'm so old school, they tore the school down. (Kirsti got the artist (Coach Z), but not the title)

17. Committed for insanity and crimes against the soul. The worst crime that I ever did was play some rock & roll. (The Stranglers, "Get a Grip on Yourself" - Kirsti)



18. I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on. It's coming on. (Gorillaz, "Clint Eastwood" - eep)

19. Cooling at the crib watching my TV: Ed Norton, Ted Knight, and Mr. E-D. (Beastie Boys, "Hold it Now, Hit it" - Kirsti)



20. You read me my rights and then you said "lets go" and nothing more.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

#0: Sideways(disc)

I may as well get this out of the way to deflect questions when it doesn't make my forthcoming Best of 2004 list. On NY Eve we watched a friend's screener copy of Sideways. To be sure, it was entertaining throughout; well-acted and well-written. But nowhere near the accolades it's been getting. I've been thinking less of it--and of it less-- ever since. At its heart it's warmed-over but more (pseudo)intellectual Swingers.



Some of this is a knee-jerk reaction I have against wine snobs triggered by a toxic former coworker who lived in "wine country" and never missed an opportunity to pass along this information or denigrate that which was not Wine Country. To us Chicagoland 3Commers still just getting used to the Silicon Valley variety of snobbery, the w.c stuff was even more offensive. Hopefully the industry bust delivered appropriate justice.
Movie Log '05

I used to be quite good about maintaining annual lists of the movies I saw for the first time. I've slipped the past two years, but plan to correct that...

#1: The Bourne Supremacy (disc)

Not being a Ludlum reader** or Matt Damon fan, I was pleasantly surprised by The Bourne Identity. The sequel...not so much. Brian Cox's role was pretty much telegraphed, and the confrontation at the end was just ridiculous. Still, I'm always happy to see Joan Allen.



**similarly, an open letter to Coen: thoughts on McConaughey as Dirk Pitt? I've not read any Cussler either, but the Sahara preview looks suitably..."rompy", though the celeb-brat angle gives me pause (Mike Eisner's kid directs, Cussler's daughter has a role).